Netherworld vs Stilwater
by RoyalStarlord
Summary: The son of the Witchking of Nordberg faces against The Third Street Saints in Stilwater. Warning: May contain blood, gore, coarse language, violence, drug use, suggestive themes and implied sex. Critique is welcome.
1. A Long Nap

**-Revised and stuff-**

**A/N:The story takes place way after the events of Overlord 2 and crossovers to the Saints Row 2 game with all of the campaign missions completed. revised**

**Chapter 1: A long nap.**

The world had slowly turned its dance on its axis for thousands of years. Many people who live there have lived daily lives that they considered a daily struggle of life. To simply work minimum wage so they can earn their place in society by paying rent, food, accessories, entertainment, and other necessities. But among some who were wealthy and powerful, or those who wanted more no matter the cost, they dreamed up new ideas and new cons to net themselves a fatter pocket book or bank account, which usually preyed upon those who survived on minimum wage. But the poor and the rich, the majority and the minority, both suffer under the same mistress that is the bitch called 'life'. Turns out that said bitch favors wealth more, though all suffer and die in the end all the same. If it is true what they say about life being a cruel mistress, then death is her master, her king, her lord, whom decides the fate of all souls. The only fair consistency in an unfair world.

But there is another lord waiting beneath the world. To be precise, beneath Stilwater. Or to be more precise, beneath the rocky crust.

Under the streets, sewers, pipes, dirt, bedrock, stone, metal, gems, and earth. Deep deep deep past much of the crust, and old obsidian structure long since forgotten came to the surface of magma and burrowed its way into the hard soil and into cooler temperatures. Finding a place that is perfect for it, it made its new home and attached itself to the roof of the chamber, like a barnacle to a whale. It pressurized the chamber, pushing away the magma that threatened to rise up and create a new volcano. It resembled a stalactite. But its purpose is to be of a dark tower, an evil seat of power. It was a tower that housed an unimaginable evil. It shook itself, shaking extra magma off of itself and much of the volcanic rock that didn't belong.

Eons ago, this tower belonged in another world, a different dimensional reality where there was elves, dwarves, halflings, unicorns, dragons, enormous slugs, rock giants, and magic. Once upon a time ago, a mistress gave birth to a baby boy that the father, though apathetic and snide at first, raised. He named his son Carlon. Sadly his father, the Witchking of Nordberg, fell to a slow illness that ate away his muscles and bones. It was the price to pay when sifting through the toxic magical ooze just to piece together again the tower heart that gave power to many overlords that it served. Many objects belonging to a former tower home were retrieved, kept safe by the third overlord before the cataclysm. Aside from the trophies and artifacts collected from the surface tower, objects that Carlon's father collected in his peak of glory also held importance. But tragedy struck when the people his father ruled learned of the fourth overlords debilitating weakness, and tried to strike back at him. The fourth overlord gathered all of his resources, his minions, his treasures and his son and casted three spells that had completely depleted the tower heart's magical reserves. The first spell made the netherworld tower detach from their world, become animated, and enter a portal to a different realm of reality. The second spell protected the tower as they were transferred through the magma. The third spell was a protective sleep spell that was casted onto his son and the son's minions when he was finally of age years later. Carlon and his army of evil would remain asleep for thousands of years till the heart regained its full magic.

Once the tower heart finally recharged itself to full power and released Carlon from the spell, he would finally wake from his slumber, rumbling and shaking free from the magma rock that seeped in and covered him. His sleepy, yet glowing eyes blinked a few times before surveying the chamber. He had faint memories to when the place looked better. Anything that didn't get burned up by the magma either turned to dust or was in great disrepair. But he was sure the treasures and magical objects stayed preserved. Carlon raised his left hand into the air and sent his will through the tower, making the tower vibrate again, but this time more forcibly to make much of the magma rock fall away even more, and make lava stream down throughout the tower, lighting the halls and throne room like it did in his memories long ago. He is the appearance of a 7'7" tall giant. His veins glowed blue while his eyes glowed white. His muscled body was a Caucasian color, though his skin was pale from no contact to the sun on the surface for many years. His hair was red in color, protected from age so it didn't grey in time. But it was unnaturally long, dragging across the floor and becoming dirty.

A gnarled minion, named Gnarl, yawned and opened his iron maiden, located to the side of the throne room, creaking it open and looking groggy and very crusty-eyed. The small ancient minion was adorned with old black and red rags, with a glowing large gemstone lantern on a stick that jangled just above his head. "Yawn." He almost tripped from his morning stupor.

"You awake yet?" Carlon gruffly said, brushing off flakes of ash, soot, and brimstone from his person.

"Yawn~. ... Wait. Today is the day, isn't it?" Gnarl came to the center of the throne room and looked down onto a floor panel that opened up. The tower heart floated above an abyss just below. It glowed with an eerie blue and gray light. "Ah, the tower heart is fully charged. Today is the day!" he clasped his hands in glee. "I was getting a little worried that if I slept any longer, the sandman would bury me under his own dandruff!"

Carlon shook his head. "Happy to know that a walnut like you can best a fairytale lie."

"Oh you know what I meant!" Gnarl chided, but realized that chiding an heir to the throne of evil might have consequences. "Erm I mean, you know what I meant, sire."

Carlon didn't chuckle aloud, but he will admit to himself that flustering a minion that used to be a strict teacher of combat tactics and evildoing was refreshing. "The heart took its damn time. Now, I can finally stretch my legs and rule like my father did."

Gnarl gave a wrinkled, sharp grin. "That's right. The tower heart's power is restored. And you are the heir to the late overlord. Oooh it warms my evil beating heart to see the day that you finally take your fathers place!" Gnarl said, pumping his fists into the air.

The slumbering inheritor shrugged, moving his arms in a way to get his muscles working and limber. "Let us prepare then. My first action as overlord... is to wake the hives and clean this place up. I will be needing new armor, an axe, and a gate to the surface installed so that I can see my stomping grounds." Carlon said, snapping his fingers.

"Right away, sire." Gnarl said, bowing and going about his way to wake the minion hives.

Carlon went to and sat on his throne again, plonking his butt on it and methodically feeling the contours of his chair that was his chrysalis for so long. He found it funny that the device responsible to hold his sleeping ass all this time would double as a seat of power. Carlon saw minions walk around sluggishly, rubbing their eyes after a long slumber, going about their way to tidy the place up. Their shenanigans was interesting to watch, amusing Carlon a little. A minion with a jester's hat and cane walked up to the new overlord 17 minutes after Gnarl went to wake up everyone.

"Hail 'the slumbering king'! He who inherits daddy's horde! Now the tower heart is charged, and he now sits here, bored!" Quaver praised, waving his arms and addressing Carlon.

"Quaver," Overlord Carlon warned. "I rather you played with the musical instruments that you use to play for father."

"But they all burned away when we were hibernating, my lord! All I can do is tappity-taps with my cane!" Quaver whined.

"So much as do the 'tappity-taps', and you will be the combat dummy for every minion spawned for as long as I reign."

Quaver had nothing to say about that, and scuttled away. The other minions laughed at Quaver before continuing with their duties. Minion Master Gnarl came back after Quaver left the throne room. "I'm sorry to inform you, sire, but some of the minion tribes are still covered in cooled molten rock. The browns are doing their best to clear away the rock and debris."

"Figures. Maybe I need to shake the tower some more?" Carlon said, raising his hand into the air.

"Sire, further damage to the tower should be avoided. It would be time consuming to retrieve anything that fell into the chasm. It'd take **months**!"

Carlon sighed. "Well, get them moving as fast as minionly possible. How about my armor?" He got up, his body language signaling to Gnarl to proceed to the forge room.

Gnarl lead the way to the forge. "The reds won't be able to power the forge for some time, but your equipment your father forged on your behalf remained. It's simple... but serviceable."

Carlon rolled his eyes as he walked. The forge had seen better days, but at least it was intact, aside from all the hardened magma caking into the forges. The armory opened, brimstone making the hinges screech as though pained from being opened, and showed the armor that his father made for him. Slightly less elegant than what his father would normally wear. It looked like it was made of steel. He then found an axe meant for him. Sadly, it wasn't on fire.

Carlon looked at it this-way and that-way, growling his disdain over something that wasn't a flammable weapon. But its first use was to shorten his ungodly long hair. He reached behind his head and gripped his hair into a rough pony-tail shape, then gingerly used his axe, slicing the hair till it's long enough to drape the back of his neck's nape. He applied some spittle to his left hand and brushed the saliva onto his hair, making it so that the hair would be swept back until the helmet was donned. Gnarl sighed. "Sadly sire, without the reds, we won't be able to access the forge for any upgrading for now. But perhaps your fire-based spells can provide you with some... entertainment? Bwehehehahahah~" Gnarl chuckled evilly.

After equipping his axe and armor, he focused his emotions to create a fireball from his palm, and then manipulated its energy into a fissure, spouting and throwing flame straight up into the air. "Mm. Nothing like a good burn when you want things barbequed."

"And the evil presence spell, sire?" Gnarl asked. "We may need of it, for when someone needs a good... subjugation."

"That spell is only good on powerful fools, but it's useful when I don't want to spare my minions." Carlon said, making his hand electrify with the spell. He then reached down to pick up one final piece of equipment, his helmet. After the helmet was equipped, he turned to Gnarl. "Can we start the carnage?"

"Let's see if the minion diggers found a way up." Gnarl said, going ahead of Carlon to the throne room.

They eventually ended up at the throne room again; both looked up to the chandelier that appeared more like a claw. It functions exactly like a claw, but its purpose is to transport resources to and fro the netherworld tower and wherever a gate entrance has been placed. A digger finally came back and saluted the two of them. "Gate is ready, masta'! We dug into skelly graves! A sem-eh-tair-wree!" A minion digger reported.

"A cemetery you say? How symbolic. We rise from a death-like sleep for so long, and now rising to sow destruction and panic to the world!" Gnarl shouted, excited to get some overlording done. "Sire, it is prudent to take in as much information we need. Being up to date with current events shall help us get a feel for the land. I'll be contacting you through the helm you're wearing."

Carlon stepped onto the platform, the chandelier/claw descended to pick up the overlord and transport him to the surface. What new sights and smells he can experience is uncertain. But the greatest certainty is that the world would be unprepared for his arrival, whether they like it or not. Carlon felt a smile spread across his masked face, hidden by his helmet. Though he wasn't sure if Gnarl can see him smile from within his helmet. Was he? That question didn't matter though.

It was time to raise hell.

**A/N: So yeah, this is my first story to post here. I hope it's good for everyone. Post your reviews with what you like and dislike, and how I can improve or acquire inventive ideas. Say, has anyone done a Saints Row and Overlord crossover before? :U**


	2. The Party Tremors

**Revised**

**Chapter 2: The Party Tremors**

Johnny Gat was drinking beer at the umpteenth party that he started. After the victory they had with the other gangs and then taking on a corporation, he felt as though he needed another deserved celebration. Or rather, continuous celebrations. He picked out a cell phone from his pants pocket and sent a group message to the other lieutenants and his boss.

Gat: Hey, come over to the Saints hideout if you want to get drunk to some good music.

Johnny then made some other messages to specific people. Gat sent some special messages to some select lieutenants.

To Peirce: If you try to change the music to something classical again, I'll be having some words with you.  
To Shaundi: Can you not pass out like you did last time? I had to break a pervert's arms.

Carlos Mendoza Came up to Johnny and sat next to him, opening his own beer and taking a swig. Carlos had an odd smell about him. He looked up to Johnny. "So, you drunk yet?"

"Nah, nowhere close." Gat said, taking a swig himself.

"You think boss is gonna come?" Carlos asked.

"You sure like to brown-nose a lot." Gat said, chuckling.

"No no, it's not like that, holmes." Carlos explained. "I mean, even after we defeated Ultor, The Ronin, The Sons of Samedi and The Brotherhood, do you think she deserves to... you know... cool down a little?"

"I'm pretty sure she would smack you in the face if you told her to cool down." Gat explained. He sat forward and looked at his beer bottle. "She's a pretty dangerous bad ass. If she wants to blow up some cars with a rocket launcher, smack a few innocents around, or shoot at any cops that come after her, that's her deal. I mean, getting to blow shit up all the time is pretty fun, but the way she does it kinda makes everybody feel uneasy. Heck, if the buildings were made of cardboard, Stilwater would be under the sea."

Carlos sighed. Their leader seemed to enjoy causing a lot of damage to everything. Yesterday, she called for some homies to 'assist her'. Turned out that she used them to surround a bunch of cops that tried to surround her with riot jeeps. But even then, she brought out her rocket launcher to clear a path for herself, only to knock half of her reinforcements unconscious. Three crew had to go to the hospital, but seven died. But in the week before, she was driving a modified armored jeep that shot laser guided rockets. The newspaper declared that day as the darkest moment in Stilwater. Carlos wouldn't be surprised if everybody up and left. All that would be left was The Saints. But then she would have nothing else to shoot, other than The Saints themselves.

"Hey guys." A voice came and shook Carlos' train of thought. It was Shaundi, smelling like pot smoke and other sorts of drugs. She found a spot next to Carlos and sat next to him, laying back. "Hand me a beer?"

Carlos sat up and went to get her one, gesturing to Shaundi that he would get her a cold, fresh bottle. Gat couldn't help but notice Shaundi's red eyes. "Yeesh. Were you high when you got here?"

"Yeah." She replied, lounging.

"Was it before or after driving?" Gat asked.

"I dunno."

"Freaking pot head." Gat said, downing another swig from his bottle, emptying it. Shaundi laughed, getting a beer that Carlos handed to her. "Hey, grab another beer since you're up."

"When did I start becoming a butler?" Carlos complained, going back to getting yet another beer.

"The minute that you joined The Saints!" Gat said, shouting at Carlos when he was out of the room. Gat made a small laugh.

"You're a dick." Shaundi said, drinking down her own beer. "He's not a servant, you know."

"Ah shut the fuck up. He is, and was, a good kid, but don't think I won't force him into being a... what's a rank that is below a lieutenant?"

"Second lieutenant, I think." Shaundi replied.

Gat finished his beer. "Didn't I tell you to shut up? Man, for being a pot smoker, you sure like to piss me off."

"Oh, sorry, was I supposed to?" Shaundi said, snickering.

"No. And don't be like that."

"Be like what?"

"Being sarcastic. That's my schtick." Gat said, throwing an empty beer bottle into a trash bin across the room.

"Nobody said you have to be sarcastic all the time." Shaundi said.

"Even if they did, nobody is gonna want to fuck with me, even if it's a good reason anyway."

"Did someone piss off Gat again?" A different voice said. It was Pierce, walking into the room and carrying a couple cases of beers.

"Yeah, I think you saved me from Gat." Shaundi said, smiling as promise of inebriation comes to mind, even though her mind was already fogged.

"Well anyway," Gat said. "give me some respect and you won't be thrown in front of a car. I'm just saying."

Shaundi stretched and breathed in deep before sighing. "Does this mean I gotta apologize before I become roadkill?"

"Nah. But even if you did, I'm thinking that there's something you can do to make up for it." Gat said, motioning to Peirce to bring him a beer.

"Am I gonna like it?" Shaundi questioned.

"Let me have your beers." Gat said.

"... Whatever. I'm too high anyway."

"Man, this is awkward. I'm gonna take a beer and find a place to relax. Warn me if Gat starts killing someone." Said Pierce, leaving the cases of beer, minus the one bottle of beer that he took with him.

Carlos finally came in with beer in hand and went to Gat. He was hesitant in giving Gat another bottle since he already has one. "Hang on, when did you get another one?" Carlos asked.

"Thank Pierce. I guess that one is yours." Gat said, gesturing to Carlos' beer and taking a swig from his own.

Carlos sighed happily and twisted the top to drink in its golden content. It was a welcoming invitation to clear away the constant bad taste from his mouth. Carlos wondered if he would take the time and schedule for a check-up to the dentist.

But a tremor stopped the merriment, as bottles of beer fell and spilled and people tried to keep their balance. There was some cursing as beer was spilt, but there was no injuries that needed to be addressed. But that was when the aftershock came, much more violently this time. The damage was much more significant. The most gruesome part of it was one of the gang members fell onto a bottle and his eye busted open. Much of the structure of The Saints hideout fell and broke, almost making the hotel called 'Purgatory' become part of Old Stilwater. Pillars fell over as the shaking continued, where fellow Saints struggled to get to their feet. Some opted to hide under a table. The earthquake then slowly dissipated after a short while. When the quake felt as though it was over, The Saints slowly recovered.

Pierce came back to his fellow partners in crime. "Fuck, I think we need to get out of here before the hotel collapses!"

"Fucking dammit!" Gat said, nearly knocking out his own teeth with his own beer bottle during the earthquake.

"Did the world move?" Shaundi asked, looking around wide eyed.

"Yeah, we felt it too, Shaundi." Carlos replied. "I didn't think I'd feel an earthquake in this place in my lifetime."

"Fucking dammit!" Gat said, noticing that his beer had spilt from being broken.

Carlos came to the foyer and looked down. Seems as though everyone else was trying to recover from the quake too. "If anyone is not wounded or dead, help the others to a hospital if you can!" Pierce shouted to The Saint's members.

"Fucking dammit!" Gat said, kicking up the debris of glass shards from a fallen case of beer.

Pierce turned to watch Gat's tirade. "You can get more, Gat. No sense in crying over spilt beer."

"Don't fucking talk shit to me! It's not just the beer. It's the beer, it's the party, and that fucking earthquake." Gat said. He turned away and went down the stairs, cracked from the quake moments earlier. He went down to the radio and turned it off. "Okay, party is over. Can't get my drink on without any beer."

It wasn't long before their leader came back. "The fuck's happened?" It was The Third Street Saints leader. She wore something akin to a pimps jacket, but wore a red bikini underneath wearing violet combat boots. She wore gold and diamond jewelery and many gold piercings. Her walk was lady like, accentuating her curvaceous chest and hips. "I was in a helicopter a while ago, but when I decided to come to the party, the traffic was more fucked up than it normally was. And that's when the earthquake happened."

Gat spun around and looked up. "Paula, where the fuck have you been?"

"I thought I tried to use some helicopter blades to cut some trees down. I crashed the copter so I made my way back here. I felt the tremors on the way so I ran to see if the hideout held up." Paula explained.

"Well I'm glad to see you're okay." Carlos said, walking down with Paula behind her. "How is the damage up there?"

"Nothing too serious." Paula said. "Lots of light-posts fallen and crackheads are freaking out, but I think that's normal in this city."

"Wait..." Pierce said, cautious about resting on the stone railing, though still fearful about the earthquake. "I might be thinking aloud here, but did the aftershock seem a little weird to everyone?"

"Aftershock? What, is that like a horror film?" Carlos asked, not really listening.

"No man, let me explain." Pierce said, now walking to Carlos and Paula to join them. "An aftershock is the phenomenon that follows most earthquakes. Think of it like throwing rocks in a body of water and they make ripples. Although, try to imagine that instead of ripples in water, think of it as ripples in earth."

"And this has anything to do with us?" Paula asked Pierce.

"Er... I just thought that it was a weird thing that needed to be pointed out." Pierce said, shrugging. "It was just that the aftershock is usually a little calmer than the mainshock."

"Yeah yeah." Gat said, sounding more calm than before. "We'll be sure to avoid any black cats and throw salt over our shoulders. When did you become a seismologist?"

"Can we then just watch Channel 6 news then?" Pierce asked, not wanting to explain himself without being shot down again. Perhaps both figuratively, and slightly literally.

"Okay, fine. No need to get antsy. Everyone that is a lieutenant or a general, follow me to my room. If the widescreen is broken, we're stealing one." Paula said.

Gat, Shaundi, Pierce, Carlos, and Paula all went to the only bedroom in The Saints hideout. A strange structural feature for a 'hotel' to have only one bedroom. Paula turned on the widescreen TV and turned it to Channel 6 News where a familiar voice was heard.

XXX

It showed a helicopter view of the city, with a woman's voice narrating the recent events. "The earthquake had shaken the lives of many who live in Stilwater. Though damage and injury is believed to be minimal, property damage is projected to be in the hundreds of thousands. The Suburbs had experienced the most of the damage in the earthquake, and many emergency personnel has been deployed to the areas to aid the wounded. Reporter Douglas Hatowmer is now reporting live on the ground in the area where the most damage is seen. Douglas?"

"Thank you, Jane." The camera cuts to a different view with a man in a blue flannel shirt and a Channel 6 news pin. His shirt seems to have some blood on it. "I'm here at the scene where most of the destruction is caused. Despite The Third Streets Saints' leader being a very dangerous felon, responsible for loss of many lives and high property damage, the earthquake here had set the bar where many houses were shook from their foundations. One of which had fallen over completely. The Suburban Expansion also suffered great loss as many of the construction had toppled over like a house of cards. I'm sorry to tell the folks watching this right now, but it is a grizzly scene here. Before my broadcast, I tried to help an old lady to the paramedics so I apologize if my shirt seems bloody, but rest assured that the old lady is now in good hands. Oh god... I hope that her arm can be reattached."

"The fuck?" a voice said off-camera. Possibly the camera-man.

"What?" Douglass said, turning to something outside of the cameras view. "Whoa. Are you getting this? Turn the camera!" the view shifted to rest on the Stilwater graveyard. "I don't know if you are seeing this, folks, but there is... some kind of black thing in the Mourning Woods Cemetery emitting... blue light? I can only assume that it may have been pushed into the surface from the earthquake." The camera zoomed in to a dark structure with many pillars that was shaped like spider legs as a blue aura flowed out from its center.

"Douglas, what exactly are we seeing?" Asked Jane, slight concern filling her voice.

"I've no idea. I think I'll drive over there to update on this, if that is no other reporter is in the area and wants to get the scoop first. This is Douglas, signing off."

"Thank you, Douglas." Jane said. The camera changed to viewing the anchor. "This new development, though unusual in nature, will be further updated soon. How this new structure ties into the earthquake is uncertain, but more information will be available after this break. I am Jane Valderamma, on Channel 6 News."

XXX

"Rewind and pause it at the thing the camera zoomed in on." Paula said, tilting her head.

Pierce picked up the remote and re-winded the live broadcast, thankful that they had installed Tivo with their cable. The structure still looked as foreboding as it still did, though this time it gave an unsettling chill to everyone as Pierce paused it.

"The fuck are we looking at here?" Carlos asked.

"I have no idea." Shaundi said, now fully shaken from her marijuana high. "But I have a bad vibe about it."

"Kinda looks like spider legs, don't cha think?" Paula said.

"Oohoohoohoohoo I HATE spiders!" Pierce said, jumping away and rubbing his arms and back.

"Pierce, calm down. No need to act like a girl in preschool." Gat said.

"Do you think we should check it out?" Carlos asked, unsure.

"... Nah." Paula said, snatching the remote from Pierce and turning off the widescreen.

"'Nah'?" Gat said, looking back at his leader. "What do you mean 'nah'?"

"Nah, as in it doesn't involve us." Paula said, going out of her way to put the stuff in her room back the way it was.

"Well the earthquakes shook up our place pretty hard. I think that's cause enough to check it out." Gat pointed out.

Paula sighed. "If you think it's a huge issue then just send Pierce and some thugs to-"

"Wait, why do I gotta go near the freaky spider leg monolith?" Pierce shouted.

Paula pinched the bridge of her nose. "Pierce. Four things. One: You don't have to go near it. You just gotta survey what happens. Two: You'll take some crew with you, so you don't have to be alone. Three: If worse comes to worse, call us and we'll drive there to give you some more support. And four: The Ronin WAS your responsibility, and last time I cared to remember, they did hang around the graveyards pretty often till we captured that territory."

Even though Pierce was a little comforted, he shook his head and said "Damn." aloud to no one in particular, then walked away.

Gat chuckled. "Well, at least I know what kinda prank to give Pierce if he decides to piss me off."

"Spiders?" Paula asked.

"Yeah. Or a tarantula if I feel that he's fallen out of line."

"I'll make a note of that. But in the meantime, I'm watching the news." Paula pressed fast-forward to the most current time and continued watching for the news about the strange spindly... monolith, as Pierce called it, in the graveyard. She wasn't too worried about it, even though it did piqued her curiosity. Whatever it was, she was unaware of the ultimate danger it housed.

**A/N: And another chapter is out. I think I might take my time with the next chapter, so be patient.**


	3. Medieval meets Modern

**-Revision-**

**Chapter 3: Medieval meets Modern**

Carlon rose to the surface and walked onto the sunny grass, compacting the ground with his heavy boots and making it squelch. Did it rain recently? He shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun, a kind of celestial body he only saw a few times when he was younger. He looked around to see the gravestones dotting the area he was in. Most if not all of them toppled, but the other headstones either cracked or survived. He assumed his arrival must have shaken the land above by quite a lot. But there was an unusual structure that seemed to have toppled. A tall building of metal. From what Carlon can tell from the wet grass, it seemed as though the building was once a metallic reservoir of water. Further away, he could see a road made of some kind of black stone, where a yellow line sectioned itself in half that twisted around and through the cemetery. But off in the distance, he could make out large objects that projected out of the ground. _Are they castles?_ Carlon thought.

"_Sire, can you hear me?_" Gnarl said, his voice being projected into the overlord's helmet.

"Clearly. Gnarl, I have a feeling that we are not in Nordberg anymore." Carlon said, walking east-ward and gazing up the strange dark road.

"_You were but a mere youngling when you last saw Nordberg. I have a feeling in my old bones that we have been asleep far longer than we wanted. The tower heart took a little while, but its energy is now at full capacity. About time, if you ask me!_" Gnarl said.

Carlon heaved his axe over his shoulder and returned to the netherworld gate. "I think I'll bring ten minions with me." he said, summoning browns that were eager to cause some destruction, itching for some mayhem.

"_Be careful, sire!_" Gnarl warned. "_We don't know what kind of hostile presence we'll be facing. But if you do face them, I'm sure some soft spoken politics with your axe will change their disposition! Hahaha._"

Carlon turned and made his way east-ward again, bringing ten minions worth their weight and savagery in usefulness. Though they carried crude clubs, or simply used their fists for bashing, they were eager to a fault. They also looked around with ooh's and ah's as they saw new sights and sounds they never experienced before. Even though they made their way to what looked like a construction site, but they didn't know it was one. Any persons they happened to meet were too busy tending the wounded or gave a frightened look at Carlon and his minions. A hobo ran away in a crazed daze, shouting and spouting that the end of the world is nigh and demons walk the earth the second he saw a minion. Many of the buildings looked as though they were pushed from their very foundations.

"_This place, though a little... interesting... could do with a makeover. I believe a little raiding is in order._" Gnarl said.

The Overlord couldn't agree more. He spotted a convenience store after some time, believing it to be the first place to start some chaos. He pointed his left hand and said "Raid." to his minions. All at once, they ran forward and went into the store, smashing everything and tearing things apart, laughing in a raucous evil way. The store clerk inside was against the wall, not believing what he saw as hellish goblin-looking creatures was un-shelving his merchandise. But what made his heart race was seeing a tall figure walk into the storefront and approached him. Carlon then stood there, staring intently at the clerk, who was sweating bullets. "If you value your life, pay me to spare it." The Overlord threatened.

"Um... I'm... sorry sir, but I-I don't give money to criminals." He said. Were it the leader of The Saints, he would comply more easily. But Carlon didn't know that, and the store clerk didn't know The Overlord.

Carlon thrusted his axe forward and caught the clerk with the part of the blade that hooked downward. "Then give your money to the new overlord, or I'll have my minions pull out your intestines."

The clerk didn't like hearing that one bit. He looked down to see a minion appearing over the glass table. It gave him a sinister grin with a demented chuckle. "Alright! Alright! Let me just open the cash register, don't hurt me please." Once the axe was unhooked from his shirt, he quickly got to the cash register and pulled everything out and put into a brown paper bag. After the register was emptied he threw the money to the counter. But he also discretely pressed a hidden button that alerted the police that he was in trouble.

The overlord picked open the bag and pulled out the paper money. He was now feeling... agitated. He threw the tens and twenties to the ground and yanked the clerk into the air from his shirt with just one hand. "Is this supposed to be a joke? The worth of your life is this green parchment?" he angrily shouted.

The clerk flailed and panicked. "But you told me to give you the money and I did!"

Carlon threw the clerk to the floor and the minions quickly surrounded him. The Overlord walked up and towered the clerk. "The tinder you gave me burns easily. I would rather have copper, silver, or gold. This is your last few seconds of life you will now experience." he said, raising his hand and making his fingers into a snapping position with minions at the ready.

The clerk quickly dug into his pockets and flashed something to Carlon. "Here!" The object the store clerk brought out looked to be a small black velvet box. A minion took it and opened it, revealing a wedding ring inside. The minion ooh'd and gave it to his master "Treasure~." The overlord squinted his eyes at the tiny accessory then looked at the clerk. Apparently, from what Carlon can understand, gold and various kinds of treasures was scarce in this time and age, so they seemed to have adopted to using some form of legal tender. This modern age is so strange.

"... This ring's worth spared your life." Carlon said, pocketing the jewelry and making it wisp away. Carlon was unsure how the treasure his father, or Carlon just now collected, disappeared and mysteriously reappear back in the netherworld tower treasury. It could have something to do with the tower heart or overlord magic. Perhaps both. But that trinket alone didn't satisfy him. He stepped onto the cashiers right arm and forced it down firmly. He took his axe and swung it into the clerk's arm, cleaving through flesh and bone. The store clerk wailed in agony before passing out due to the pain. Carlon heard another kind of wailing in the distance, but paid no heed.

"_Well, the currency he had was worthless._" Gnarl said bitterly. "_But I believe you made your point very well, sire._"

"Point? He gave me paper." Carlon said, strolling out of the store with minions following, hooting at their overlord as they did.

"_And you made sure he understood that treasure is the only thing worth bartering when it comes to appeasing you, my lord!_"

"Mm." Carlon grunted.

"Freeze!" someone shouted. Carlon turned to face two men in blue cloth uniforms. They stood behind a shiny black and white object with four round 'legs' that wasn't there before. The two officers pointed some small devices at the overlord and his minions. "Drop your axe and get on the ground, face first!"

"Emory, what do we do with the trick-or-treaters?" The other officer asked.

"I don't think those are trick-or-treaters. Call for backup." the officer who shouted 'freeze' said.

"_Sire, I believe we have attracted the local enforcements. They should know their place that the only law now is yours. Slay them!_" said Gnarl, excited to watch more carnage unfold.

Carlon pointed at the two cops, giving the minions the cue to attack. They flowed from their ranks to swarm the officers, while the officers panicked by shooting their guns at the minions. Though the bullets they fired did hit a few minions, they shrugged off the damage. Once they swarmed onto the police, they beaten the officers to a pulp, the sounds of pained cries and bludgeoning turning into just the sounds of bludgeoning in mere seconds. It wasn't long after more cops showed up, 3 vehicles stopping around the overlord and talking into their radios. "We got two officers down answering a 211S, and now it looks like we have a 245. The suspect looks about 7... 7 and a half feet tall, wearing a suit of armor. He is with other accomplices, but... I'm not sure how to describe them. They don't appear to be human... What? No, I'm not making this up!"

Carlon watched the police en-mass coming and nearing his position, surrounding him with those metal chariots. But it did little to deter The Overlord. Carlon summoned his most destructive offensive magic onto the policemen. An inferno enveloped the officers and their cars till eventually all that was left was the burning remains. The police cars, unexpectedly, exploded one after the other, which gave question to their existence as Carlon wondered why anyone would want to ride in something that detonated after being exposed to a little fire. "Forcing my rule here will be too easy." Carlon said aloud.

"_Even so, sire, I think it would be best to learn everything we can about this culture of humanity. Though, I doubt I'll be able to understand the nuances or subtleties that has changed from what we were used to. Consider me old fashioned, but perhaps our next target should be a library?_" Gnarl said.

"As it pains me to say this, you're right, Gnarl." Carlon said. "But it also means I should hold back my fire spells so I don't burn anything of value to us. Namely, books."

"_And it pains me that we have to read. But I do enjoy a good book burning now and then. Head east-ward a little more, master! Perhaps we will find a sign to help us on our way._"

xxx

Pierce drove down to the graveyard, watching several commuters watch in awe of the strange structure that appeared there. The structure was just as it looked in the newscast, though getting closer than he really needed gave him chills still. He found a place to park and brought with him 2 able bodied 'volunteers' he asked to come with him. Even though he cursed under his breath, he would rather do this job than get under the boot of Gat. Or worse, Paula.

He came up to an onlooker and tapped his shoulder. He turned around, his eyes almost popping out of his head. "Gah. Uh..."

"Relax, I'm not gonna shoot you. Do you know what is going on here?" Pierce asked.

"Hell if I know. A news crew came here and I think the crazy nut is planning on going into that demon portal thing." He said, pointing a thumb behind himself.

"Someone's going into that? Make room, I wanna see!" Pierce said, pushing away the onlooker and the crowd.

After a little effort, Pierce and his goons made their way to the main attraction of the pony show. Or whatever happens to constitute to a pony show metaphor when something hellish pops out of the ground after an earthquake. Pierce can also see the news reporter that is live on the scene. The well known anchor, Jane Valderamma.

"Here I am standing at the sight where Douglas Hatowmer had recklessly went into what the onlookers that has gathered here is calling 'The Mouth of Hades'. I am getting the confirmation that Douglas is still alive after going into the mysterious structure, but acquiring a live feed is strained at the moment. The police has placed barriers to keep people from going near the structure, but pandemonium still runs through the streets despite the police presence here. No one has a clue as to what the origins of this strange edifice is, or where it came from, but some people say it is an alien device that landed here after the earthquake. But the more believable story is that the earthquake simply pushed the structure to the surface. Due to the unique mysteries of the structure, it is uncertain if actions will be taken by the city officials to address this phenomenon, but it is expected that archeologists and geologists will soon flood the area to give their input."

Pierce had a bad feeling knotting up inside himself. Are they going to be broadcasting live from wherever that thing came from? Was there something dangerous inside? Can they come back out? These questions gnawed at the back of Pierce's head. At least he would draw the line to the point where he would refuse going near that thing. Or in it for that matter.

**A/N:Phew.**


	4. The Window into the Dark

**-Revision- **

**Chapter 4: The Window into the Dark**

Half an hour had past since Pierce had called Paula to tell her that someone had already made the decision to venture into the 'Mouth of Hades'. Paula was pacing left and right, feeling at unease for some unexplainable reason. That, and she never did like waiting for the news to develop. The lieutenants somewhat shared their boss's impatience.

"So when are they gonna show us the broadcast from inside that thing?" Shaundi asked, laying herself onto Paula's bed.

"When they show the broadcast. Ever heard of a thing called 'waiting'?" Gat said sarcastically, sitting forward on the front of the bed.

"If it's aliens like the anchor lady said, I'm moving town. Whatever E.T. comes out of that place has to look like a nightmare." Carlos said.

"Shut up, the news is on." said Paula, upping the volume to the channel.

xxx

The Channel 6 news jingle came on again after the commercials were over. Even though the commercials themselves were laughable, it only made the wait slightly less bearable. Jane Valderamma greeted the viewers finally.

"Hello, I am Jane Valderamma. We are here to keep everyone updated on the events regarding the structure that appeared in The Mourning Woods Cemetery. From what has already been reported, Douglas Hatowmer went blindly into the structure, possibly to find the cause of the recent Stilwater earthquake. Thankfully, we have just received an update that Douglas is alive and well, via cellphone. He said through the phone call that he currently can't figure out how to get back, but stated that he has acquired amazing footage from some kind of chamber that the structure itself seems to lead to. He described that he found himself in what appeared to be a throne room of volcanic rock and obsidian, and that lava streamed down the walls and pooled into the cracks in the floor, describing the temperature to be very high, that he felt like it was at the 120° Fahrenheit range. He said that he found a way to send snippets of recorded video coverage of the obsidian throne room through his laptop's wireless uplink, and I do believe the first video file has just been reviewed, which shall be shortly showed live on Channel 6 News. The video that you will see now shall be the first tentative, and most raw footage, inside of 'The mouth of Hades'."

The image cut to a different camera view, this time to something completely alien. As Jane said, it was the inside of a throne room. What she failed to mention was how dark and foreboding it truly was. A voice was heard from the recording. "Okay. Phew. THAT is so cool looking. Ah... Why is it so hot? ... Okay. I'm not sure if many of you will see this or not, so I'll just record as much as I can and save it all in my flash drive. ... Actually, if I can get wifi here, I might send this to the news station for everyone to see! Hahaha. I wonder if I can get back to Stilwater?" Douglas said. He swiveled the camera view to look upward to view a black spiky chandelier. "Did I came down from that?" he asked to no one in particular, breathing heavily. "Hooh... I need more water. Say, if you guys get any of this, can you send some down? Preferably some ice too? ... wait a minute." The camera panned to a different view and walked away from the throne, the video image now showing the inside of a huge cavern with floating rocks orbiting around slowly. "Oh... Mother of Christ." He said aloud. He panned the camera down to see a seemingly bottomless abyss. There seemed to be very little light at the bottom of the chasm, though streams of lava poured and drained into the depths. "... Okay, I think this is enough footage. I'm going to stop recording for now, but once I sent it, I'll record more of this place." The camera now panned to his feet for some arbitrary reason. "Where's my phone?" That was when the camera recording finally cut itself off.

The broadcast changed to view Jane again. "And there you have it, folks. More news will develop as Douglas Hatowmer uploads more video footage as he explores the depths of The Mouth of Hades. In the meanwhile, we have news of the recent rioting that has occurred in the nearby area. It is a sad turn of events to know that often what follows after a disaster, is devastation. The police forces and emergency units are currently strained and spread out to provide relief to the citizens of Stilwater. Any bystanders witnessing a crime or riot in progress is to call 911, describe the nature of the crime, and tell emergency personnel of your current location. If in the the event you are unable to reach your phone or cell, then cautiously flag down emergency personnel near you. If you are unable to find emergency personnel near you if the rioting risks danger to yourself, then find a safe and secure place to hide till the danger has passed. This is Jane Valderamma, on Channel 6 news."

xxx

"Hey, I think I saw Pierce there." Shaundi said, taking out a blunt.

"Who gives a shit." Gat said. "At least he's not in whining distance."

"It's pretty crazy though. Has that been under Stilwater this whole time?" Carlos asked.

"I doubt it. I guess it was really deep underground or some shit, but I'm not an expert on... black obsidian thrones." Gat said, still mad that he didn't get drunk at the ruined party.

"At least the hotel is still here." Paula said, taking out one of her pistols and inspected it. It was something better to do than just sit down idly with her thumb in her ass. "I'd hate to move to a different gang hideout. I'm kinda attached to this one."

"Our leader? Displaying affection? Hahaha, if that doesn't scare me more, I'd convince myself that you're not the real Paula!" Gat said.

"Yeah? Well you can expect me to taze your ass and drop you off a bridge." Paula said, twirling her gun.

"THAT'S the leader I know!" Gat said. He sat next to Paula and watched the TV screen. "But did they really have to call it Hades' Mouth? Makes it way more ominous that it should be."

"The Mouth of Hades." Paula said, correcting Gat. He gave her a glare, but she smiled at him. "But I doubt you'd get scared by whatever fugly monster comes out. Besides, it looks like no one is home."

xxx

"This is Jane Valderamma with an important news update. After some time with technical staff, we are now able to connect live with Douglas Hatowmer's camera, using an app on his laptop device. And now we will cut to him. Douglas?"

"... ... ... ... Thanks Jane." Douglas said, the camera view changing to the obsidian throne room, though there was some delay. "As you can all see now, the throne room here is draped in red cloth, though I can only assume that it is some kind of silk. I believe from what Jane told me that you folks at home watching this has already seen my previous video upload, so I think I'll continue my venture of this strange, dark place." Douglas went to the camera and picked it up, obscuring the view with his body. "Bear with me, everyone." The camera video swerved around wildly till the angle was now fixed, albeit shakily. Its view centered onto a cooler. "To whoever sent down the cooler with the ice and water bottles, thank you. I think I owe you a beer after this." The camera angle shifted to some stairs that lead upward. "I'm now making my way through this labyrinth. I'm thinking that if I start going upward, I might find another way back to everyone." he said.

"Douglas, if you can hear me, what is your opinion on the origins of the structure?" Jane Valderamma asked.

There was a long pause before Jane's tiny voice sounded from a cell phone. "... ... ... ... I have NO idea Jane. The rocks look old, everything has cobwebs, and the air is hot and stale. But when I look at the ground, I see footprints that are not my own, so I can only assume that something else is here." the ground was indeed disturbed recently, but the footprints wasn't anything a human could have left behind. But it seems like everyone was not paying attention to that detail. "There is a passage here at the top of these stairs. I'm going through them." Douglas said, cautiously making his way in his ascent. Step after step echoed in the long staircase up as Douglas scaled it. He panted much more, though the sound of gulps and sloshing water was heard a couple times. The camera eventually viewed the inside of another chamber, one that was highly and elaborately decorated. Douglas 'whoa-ed' as he panned the camera around, capturing the moment for everyone watching the news.

"Well well, what do we have here?" said a somewhat high pitched gravelly voice in a whimsical manner.

The camera turned around frantically. "What? who said that?" Douglas shouted.

"Me of course." The voice said, with a small cackle. "But I must tell you that we have a staunch policy in this place. You have intruded into the private quarters, so I must ask for your name."

"... Frank, is that you? If it is, it's not funny, Frank!" Douglass shouted, trying to follow the sound of that voice.

"Your naivete and idiocy is both refreshing AND entertaining." The camera finally centered itself on a walnut looking creature, hunched over with a glowing crystal lantern on a stick hanging over it, wearing rags. It smiled at the cameraman. "But still. Will you give me your name, or do I need to force it from you?"

"What in the... Folks, I seem to have encountered a... scrawny creature. I think it's safe to say that we have made contact with this place's inhabitants." Douglas said.

"Scrawny? Oh, you have done it now." Gnarl turned away. "Minions! Frisk everything on his person and punish the whelp! I will inform the overlord of our new prisoner."

A bunch of less wrinkled creatures that looked like the hunched-over walnut bursted out and surrounded Douglas. Screaming was heard before the camera changed to view a very surprised Jane Valderamma. Her shocked expression was deterred as she shook her head briefly and reported to the news. "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, but... we have received news of technical difficulties with Douglas' camera feed. ... We uh... we at Channel 6 News hope that Douglas Hatowmer is okay. We will be warning the police about the events that has happened and they will take the necessary actions to protect the citizens of Stilwater. This is Jane-"

xxx

Gat, Carlos, Shaundi and Paula stared at the television in awe. Paula broke the silence by turning off the TV. "Okay... maybe there is somebody home."

"I'm getting a REALLY bad feeling about this. Like... the 'Diablo is among us' kind of bad." Carlos said, panicking and getting a pistol out.

"Calm your jets." Gat said. "If they start fucking with us, we'll fuck them up too. Plain and simple."

"They're not even human, bro!" Carlos said.

"Carlos. Dude." Paula said. "You're not human either."

"... W-what?" Carlos said, looking to Paula.

"You're a zombie. Remember us using that voodoo stuff to raise you from the dead?" Paula said. She turned away from Carlos. "Probably not. Besides, I've never seen stranger stuff like this before, but this shouldn't be a problem."

Carlos had an even bigger panic attack as he realized that they were right. In fact, it would explain the hole in his head he got from that day he was dragged from a truck and mercy killed. Carlos was in sheer disbelief, and had the utter desire to ask the questions that was now swarming in his head. "But... how am I able to talk?"

"We just stuck a bunch of tofu into your head and I think pierce added a microchip." Gat explained. "Then we spray painted your skin the right color, spritzed a bunch of febreeze, cleaned up your throat, shoved a cork into your skull and it's like your normal again. Well... mostly normal. But it worked like it did with that zombie in that youtube animation 'Zombie Dearest'."

Carlos slowly walked to the corner of the room and sat on the ground. "I... I think I need to lay down."

"Wait, I thought you only go to porn sites?" Paula questioned Gat.

"Hey, the internet isn't just for porn." Gat said, smirking.

"Should we tell Pierce this?" Shaundi asked, making the Carlos zombie a topic that wasn't as urgent.

"Fuck Pierce. He's a big boy." Gat said. "He can call us if he gets into trouble."

Suddenly, Paula's cell phone rang.

**A/N: Slightly longer, but it was worth it.**


	5. Of Minions and Men

**-Revized-**

**Chapter 5: Of Minions and Men**

Paula: What is it, Pierce?  
Peirce: I uh, I think you should know. One of our guys says there's someone in armor in HighEnd Retail.  
Paula: Armor? Like riot gear?  
Pierce: No no, medieval armor! Like from the renaissance period!  
Paula: What?  
Pierce: That's exactly what I said! But that's besides the point. You see, this guy in armor is causing a lot of panic at HighEnd Retail. A lot of police are going there right now. I'm already driving there too in fact. In short, something big is happening, and one of our guys is calling me to assess the situation.  
Paula: Actually Pierce, I want you to stay away from the action this time.  
Pierce: Well, when I said I would 'assess the situation', it didn't really necessitate me going near danger. If you want, I can send some boys to watch the 'mouth' if it's alright with you.  
Paula: *sigh* At least you're not near that Mouth of Hades. Am I right?  
Pierce: Yeah. Something happened there?  
Paula: I think it's more important to get a gang to watch it rather than have you there. You think you can get some people to?  
Pierce: You want me to check it out, and now you don't want me near it? I have to ask: what is really going on?  
Paula: Let's say a newscaster got captured and we got a good look at his captors.  
Pierce: Oh shit! What did they look like?  
Paula: Angry hairless mole midgets.  
Pierce: Really? That doesn't sound so bad.  
Paula: We got a Tivo recording that you need to see then.  
Pierce: Well... alright. I'm coming back to HQ, after I get some boys to watch the mouth. Ah. Shit. HEY, WHAT'S THE HOLD UP? ... Boss, I need to call you back. Something came up.  
Paula: What is it? ... Pierce?

The phone call ended.

xxx

Pierce came out of his Sovereign, his vehicle of choice, to get a better look at the loud ruckus up ahead.

Up ahead was what Pierce's contact said, a tall man wearing a suit of armor. But what's worse was the... things that followed behind him. Pierce can only assume that it was the angry hairless mole midgets that his boss described. But looking at them in person didn't justify Paula's description of them. They were a lot more horrifying for one. They followed the suited man into the store 'Forester Books'.

Inside, Carlon went to the counter to an old lady, who had white dread hair and wrinkles all over her face. She wore a tie-dyed shirt of pink and green swirls. "Hello there." she said, adjusting her glasses to get a better look at her customer. "I don't think I ever had a cosplayer here before. Is there a comic book convention somewhere?"

"I came here looking for a library. Is this one?" Carlon asked.

"Yes, deary. We have a broad selection of books pertaining to survival in the wilderness. We also have books about growing plants, books about medicine, books about tree species, books about how to grow your own cloth using nothing but moss, books about forcing a tree to grow a certain shape to become furniture, books about connecting your spirit with the wilderness and Mother Nature, books about knowing the different types of illnesses that trees can develop, books about-"

"Let me stop you there." Carlon said. "I'm more interested about books containing historical events."

"Oh, then you will want to go to the library at the university. They have a broad selection of books there. I go there a few times myself back in the day, but they don't allow me there anymore. They accused me of stealing some books from there, but I stood my ground as best as I can. But, before you know it-"

"How do I get to this... 'university'?" Carlon asked, getting tired of listening to her drivel.

"Oh it's easy. Just drive down any of the highways across any of the bridges and simply drive down the roadways with the river to your right. Follow the shoreline and you'll find great big buildings of academia. They'll have the outdoor sign that says it too! But again, they don't let me in there anymore because of the accusations. I simply go to the museum instead since it's very much closer. Ooh, I love going there! Have you been to the museum? It's just north-east of here. They got exhibits on paleontology, and-"

"Silence already. You bore me." Carlon said, turning away to go to his next destination, the museum, since it's due to the old lady's description that it was closer.

"I bore you? You're a fucking git. You remind me of my grandson that got incarcerated and joined those no good so called 'Saints'! If you had half a brain, you would understand that you should respect your elders. Why, if it were up to me, I would introduce my eldest son to you. He has the power to sue your keister. He's a lawyer I'll have you know, and if he finds out that if someone messes with his dearest mummy, then you'll be-"

She was quieted by a stream of flame to her face. She was talking so much that she didn't give herself a breather, so she didn't have the chance to scream in agony. Carlon walked out of the store, minions shouting 'Burn!' and cheering their overlord on.

"_That went on longer than I thought_." Gnarl said. "_Any more and she would have talked our ears off!_"

"This place is so confusing. Can't we have the minions scout the entire area?" Carlon was confronted with several riot officers that shouted at him and fired their weapons at him. They did wound him slightly, but his shield spell reduced the damage greatly.

"_Of course, sire. But that would require some extra life force for extra minions. Raiding their food establishments will enable us a quick supply. But another way to gain them is to harvest directly from the populace the old-fashioned way! Or go both-ways! But now if you don't mind, sire, I have a visitor to interrogate._"

"You have a visitor?" Carlon asked Gnarl, using his evil presence spell on riot officers, forcing them to turn onto their other teamates.

"_I let someone from outside into the netherworld, sire. I hope you didn't mind._"

"Actually, we can use him to 'answer' questions about Stilwater. I'm quite curious about the things in this land that we didn't have before our 'hibernation'. Well done, Gnarl. But I must ask you to inform me of any more 'guests' that come in. Understood?" The riot officers called onto their radios in dull tones. Apparently, they used a means of communicating to their allied forces using this 'radio'. Akin to the connection that enables Gnarl to see and hear through Carlon's helmet, and speak to him directly.

"_Yes, sire. Absolutely, my lord. Before I go, I should inform you that I have taken another liberty to have another netherworld gate installed north-east of your position. It will erect when it senses your presence._"

"Grand." Carlon said. He made his way north-east. Or he would have till he felt as though he was being watched. He turned around to see a Ruborian in violet and white garb watching him from a distance. Ten seconds of awkward silence later, Pierce pulled out a rectangular device which then made a strange noise, then he darted to his car, started it, and then burnt rubber as he skid and did a sharp U-turn, driving away from the dark overlord. Carlon chuckled, then continued his way to the museum.

Even though Carlon kept meeting more police to stop his progress, using the evil presence spell on them did give him some room as they would give false radio calls that their target escaped them and went in the opposite direction that Carlon was going to. He climbed up the steps of the 'Stilwater Science Center' and made his way inside, frightening many people and making them leave. Not many people know how to react when in the presence of ultimate evil. He went to the customer service counter and watched the desk help stare at him wide-eyed.

"Um... may I help you, sir?" The desk help asked. "I can um... call a tour guide to help you around."

"No." Carlon sinisterly said. "I want you tell me the history of this world. Where is the library."

"This... world? Are... um... Are you a visitor from space, sir?" he asked.

Carlon reached and grabbed his neck, squeezing firmly. "I am not in the mood for your questions. Answer mine, and you have a slight chance to live. Very slight."

He gulped, though gulping became about as hard as talking at this point.

"Now then. Tell me who is the leader of Stilwater. If you get THAT wrong... well... you'll find out." Carlon demanded.

"Why... um... is it important to you?" He asked, dangling and straining to talk.

"And I said that I was the one who will ask the questions!" He said, now using his evil presence spell to strip his will and force him to become subservient. After he was set down, the desk help smiled as his eyes crackled with the overlord's energy, as though he was hypnotized. "Now. Talk."

"Yes my lord... This place is in the care of the elected Mayor, Monica Hughes. Her position however is only the result of her husband's death, which gained her the highest rank of mayor in the municipal government. But there is another. A crime gang leader that all is terrified by. The leader of The Third Street Saints. They have control of the whole city of Stilwater." The help desk droned.

"_Third Street Saints?_" Gnarl said through a lull in the conversation. "_Ironic name._"

"But I believe that they are not as just and superior as you, my lord." He said, smiling and sounding praise and worship to his master.

"Hmm... I may have to give them a visit." Carlon said, turning away from the desk help. "Oh. And once I leave here, you have my permission to die."

"Yes sire." The desk help said. Once Carlon left, he went behind the desk and pulled out a blade that he carried, just in case he was assaulted on the streets. Blood flowed from his neck when he was done. It wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together to hypothesize over what happened to the desk help after.

"Gnarl, you there?" Carlon asked into his helm, proceeding and finding what looks like an amphitheater. "Am I near the netherworld gate?" A fume of blue spouted nearby. "... Nevermind, I found it."

"_Sire._" Gnarl said. "_After perusing a few little devices our 'guest' brought with him, I was able to gain access to a wealth of information! There is also information pertaining to these so called 'Saints'. Sadly, I'm having a hard time figuring out this 'internet'._"

"Internet?"

"_Yes sire. Our 'guest' said that it is supposed to be an 'information highway'. Sadly, every time I try and access it, the screen turns blue with something about a 'fatal error'. Sire, I wouldn't advise going onto the internet for now. Oh, and if you do, avoid clicking on the popups and advertisements._"

"... I'm coming back. How are the hive excavations?" Carlon said, walking to the netherworld and entering it.

"_The reds are freed, sire._"

The thought of having red minions again brought a smile to his face. "Does our 'guest' need a little of my evil presence? He might then help you with your internet problem."

"_Good thinking, sire. Scabies! Mangle! Bring the whelp! The overlord needs to grant him a personal audience. Hehehaha~._"

**A/N: So how are you all liking the story so far?**


	6. Call out

**-Revised-**

**Chapter 6: Call out**

Gat, Paula and Shaundi were eagerly watching the news, with piqued curiosities that made them want to learn more about 'The Mouth of Hades'. But then again, the feeling of dread at seeing those things swarm and attack the cameraman, Douglas Hatowmer, were all too fresh and still clung to the air. Carlos Mendoza still sat in the corner, still in shock about his undeath condition. Before too long, the familiar news jingle came on as Jane Valderamma came on the air.

xxx

The view was on Jane as she did her news intro. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Jane Valderamma, and this is Channel 6 News. I'm on the scene here in the museum district where, as you can see behind me, another 'Mouth of Hades' has formed. It has pushed through the flooring of the amphitheater moments ago. But that isn't the only news here, folks, as there have been several reports of sightings of the imp-like creatures all across the Suburbs, HighEnd Retail, and Museum districts. Everyone is to be instructed to remain indoors, and coming into contact with these imp-like creatures is to be avoided at all costs. Police have been informed of the recent activities and are assembling to contain the incident as well as any other uncouth activity. The police here are making an attempted effort to try and prevent civilians from entering the structure, and to block off any entry from the hellish inhabitants. ..." Jane looked down and placed a finger to her ear for a few seconds. It would seem as though she was getting new information to report. She looked up to the camera again and prepared her new report. "This just in, we have news that Douglas Hatowmer is alive! He has released a video that states that it is to be aired immediately or the entirety of Stilwater would be under threat of destruction. My sources say that it is unedited, and I was told that I must warn the weak-hearted to look away. Here is the video."

The view changed to a different camera angle that is a recording of the obsidian throne room. Douglas had several tears in his blue shirt, as well as cuts and bruises everywhere on his body, with newer blood on his blue flannel shirt. His eyes seemed white as it crackled with energy. He held a collection of papers in his hand. There was a walnut looking creature beside him, the same creature that he had captured live on camera before. There was also a different creature that was in the camera shot, sitting in the throne. Douglas had papers in his hand. "Hello, citizens of Stilwater." Douglas said with a spiritless voice. "I speak on the behalf of the new master that I serve. And as I serve him, I must tell you all now that you must serve him too."

He looked at his papers and read from them "By his command, all of Stilwater is now under his rule. Failure to obey his lordship will be met with severe punishment. My master has three commands for you to follow. Failure to comply to my masters first command will put everyone at risk of being punished. My masters first command is to have a constant import of lifeforce and funding. For those who do not know what lifeforce is, lifeforce is an energy that is found in all living things, and is harvest-able from creatures whose weight is equal to or more than one pound in weight. Failure to supply will risk humans being the next source of harvestable lifeforce." Douglas said, turning a paper.

"His second command is to request the presence of the anchorwoman, Jane Valderamma. Failure to comply to my masters second command within a span of 30 minutes will result in a city-wide search for this person, and the punishment is humans being used as an alternate source of lifeforce. If Jane Valderamma receives this transmission, then she must immediately enter one of the many netherworld gates as soon as possible." He turned to the last page. The armored man on the throne stood up and walked slowly forward, standing next to the walnut creature and Douglas.

"His third command is for the criminal gang 'The Third Street Saints' to cease any and all activities, criminal or otherwise. All businesses and territories in Stilwater, especially those owned by The Saints, will now be owned by my master and no one else. Failure to follow my masters third command will result in punishment, and as described in the first and second commands, humans will be used as an alternate source of lifeforce."

Douglas dropped the papers numbly. "You have been warned, Stilwater. Heed and obey my master's commands and you will be privileged and honored to live under him! He will now show an example to all of you by publicly executioning me personally on live public television. The feed is not to be altered in any way. Any alteration will result in punishment, via city-wide human harvesting. All hail the mighty overlord!"

The armored man raised a flaming axe as Douglas started saying his last sentence, and was brought down after his last sentence was uttered. The axe cleaved through Douglas' head, splitting his face down to his jaw in twain and catching fire. Blood poured from the cut very fluidly, dampening his shirt with a very dark and sickly red color. Douglas dropped to his knees, though he kept standing on his knees as the axe burning his head still was wedged into his skull and keeping his balance. After a boot was applied to his back, Douglas was freed and allowed to fall to the ground. The 'overlord' then walked to the camera to give audiences everywhere a close-up view of his shrouded face. His glowing white eyes burned menacingly into the camera, then the recording ended.

The camera view changed to Jane Valderamma, her expression was one of complete disbelief. She was put on the spot by the sudden 'invitation' where should she fail to arrive, hell would break loose into Stilwater. "... Uh... Very powerful message. The-the intentions of this 'overlord' seems to be set on controlling Stilwater. No new information is available as to the whereabouts of this overlord, but I am being informed that a thorough police investigation is being looked into the matter. How The Saints will react to this message is uncertain. If I were to hazard a guess, then there would no doubt be conflict. This is Jane Valderamma of Channel 6 news. ... Oh god..."

XXX

Everyone stared in awe for what felt like the longest time. Some guy that was calling himself 'The Overlord' was calling the shots and assuming control over The Saint's city. This did not sit well with Paula, as she voiced her opinion after digesting the new information.

"What the fresh fucking hell?" Paula said to no one in particular.

"I gotta admit though," Gat began. "Even though he has that renaissance flair, he doesn't fuck around." He went to turn off the widescreen television and turned to Paula, looking at her reaction.

She was fuming. "This fucker thinks he owns this place? Fuck him! First chance I get, I'll be shoving that axe of his straight up his asshole."

"Wait boss." Shaundi said. "Maybe it's not a good idea to get worked up over him? We know nothing about the guy and I'm willing to bet that we should be cautious before we step on anyone's toes."

"Remember the thing I said about shoving an axe up his ass?" Paula said to Shaundi. Paula pulled out her dual cobra pistols and started walking to the door, ready for a fight.

"There she goes." Gat said, shaking his head.

Paula opened the door to find a surprised Pierce on the other side. He was promptly pushed away as she went to butt heads with this 'Overlord' douche-bag.

Pierce turned to Gat, Shaundi, and Carlos that was still in the corner. "What did I miss?"

Gat came up to Pierce. "The Mouth of Hades was actually called a netherworld gate as it transports people into a dark and molten world that'll give kids nightmares. Turns out there is also a guy called 'The Overlord', wearing medieval armor and had sent a message for us to go kiss his ass. And not only that, I think he asked to give an interview to Jane, the anchorwoman. Oh, and Carlos is in the corner over there, and he's kinda having an emotional crisis about learning about his mortal undeath situation. ... Oh, and one more thing. I think Paula is gonna give that Overlord guy a visit too."

Pierce shook his head and huffed. "Man, you guys have some serious drama sometimes. All I did today was meet that man in armor that my contact mentioned!"

"Did you say hi?" Gat joked.

"No man, he burned down Foresters Books!" Pierce said. "I didn't have time wait around and get my ass all toasty and shit!"

"Well, boss is gonna check out the new gate that popped up in Museum district. I think I'll come and check it out too. Shaundi, you coming?" Gat asked, turning to her.

"I'll be right there." Shaundi said in the other room.

"Carlos?" Gat asked.

Carlos didn't give an answer.

"... Well okay, I'll leave you to your thoughts." Gat said, moving past Pierce and following Paula.

"Wait wait wait. What about me here?" Pierce complained.

"You can come with." Shaundi said, going past Pierce and following Gat and Paula.

"... Fucking shit. Uh... Carlos? Will you be okay here?" Pierce said, looking around the corner.

"... Hmm? Oh uh... Yeah. I just... I just need time for myself." Carlos said somberly.

"... Okay man. If you ever feel like you want to talk, you have my number." Pierce said before leaving with a wave to Carlos.

They left Carlos behind, but they were on a mission. They weren't gonna roll over belly-up for this guy and let him assume control of Stilwater. The Third Street Saints had their reputation to keep up after all, and no doubt other loyal Saints would receive the overlord's message and rebel against him. One thing was for certain however. Conflict will soon heat up between ancient evil and modern evil.

**A/N: ... Do I have to make authors notes every time I make a chapter? Sounds not very mandatory if you ask me. :L**


	7. Politics and War

**-Revision-**

**Chapter 7: Politics and War**

Jane Valderamma didn't agree with what the people are asking her to do. But at least with the recording of Douglas' death being shown to the public, she believes that quick action will be taken to this 'Overlord' character. Heck, she believes they would even give him the title of 'terrorist'. It was only 20 minutes ago that they made their presence more known to the public. That should at least be incentive enough to motivate a central government representative to analyze his actions. And then he or she would summon the military to deal with The Overlord and his... 'things'. Even though there was a large deployment of police here, and though proud as they may be, Jane didn't feel at ease.

"Are you really thinking of going into there?" A cameraman she works with said.

"As much as I hate to say it, I might have to." Jane admitted, checking herself if she looked presentable. "I think I would like to bring a weapon with me though."

"So why don't you get one?" He asked.

"I didn't have enough time to stop by my house." Jane said, making sure that her low-profile camera in her blouse works. Even though it sometimes poked her, it'll be her most useful tool. A camera is a reporters greatest weapon after all. "Do you have the connection link?"

The cameraman checked his laptop. "Mm... yup! The window in the titty cave is linked. Whatever you point your chest at, we will be able to see. Keep your boobs from closing into a cleavage and we won't encounter a problem with muffled audio. I'll try and talk to you through your earpiece when you're on the other side."

"Excuse me?" Jane asked her co-worker.

"... Aheh." The cameraman rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. I got a running joke with... uh... a different female reporter with the 'titty cave' thing. We have this inside joke, see? ... Anyway..."

"... What?" Jane asked, looking at him condescendingly.

"Don't look at me like that, you got a date. Go already!" The cameraman said, focusing on his laptop and shooing Jane away.

"It's not a date!" Jane rebuked. "And I'd rather not walk into hell, okay? I mean... what if he was bluffing or something."

Her co-worker turned to face her. "... You think Douggy's death was a bluff?" He said with his rhetorical question.

"Well it's his fault for entering into that damnable structure when he was told not to do anything reckless. He's always been so stubborn! You knew that too!"

"Mhmm. Listen, were 6 minutes till that armored guy comes out to find you. But that's the least of our worries. From the way I see it, if it really was a bluff and you did nothing, then nothing would happen. But if he was truthful in making good on that threat, then there is no telling on what he might do. I doubt that he'd get very far, but then again, I wasn't the only one who watched Douglas die." The cameraman said, then returned back to his laptop.

Jane took a deep breath and started walking to the steps of the amphitheater. Looking down, she saw the blue heat emanating from the 'mouth' of this thing. They probably found it funny that they had initially called it 'The Mouth of Hades'. And she has NO idea what this 'lifeforce' is. Jane thinks that it could spark some tension with environmentalists and hippies. But before she could walk down the steps, a familiar voice called to her. "Sup Jane!"

Jane turned around and saw an old face. "Paula? Well... This is a big surprise!"

"Well, not really. That guy in the tin can did threatened The Saints, so I'm here to show him what I think." Paula said. "So. Did you bring any heat?"

Jane shook her head. "I had no time to prepare. It was either go home and risk being late, or just wait here and maybe convince them that violence is not an answer. But unlike you, he seems like the bigger threat here."

"Bigger threat? That's a laugh." Paula said. She cocked her cobra and aimed to the ground. "I doubt he is more bad-ass than me."

Gat, Shaundi and Pierce finally came, bringing with them some backup in case 'shit hit the fan'. Though the police eyed them and some even pointed their weapons at them, The Saints were a feared gang in Stilwater. Plus, if any of The Saints or the police broke the neutrality between them, then a different hell would break loose altogether.

"So what did we miss?" Gat asked approaching Paula and Jane.

"Nothing much." Paula said. "I think Jane here was going to do the noble thing and throw herself down that portal."

"Wait. It's a portal? I thought it was a gate?" Pierce asked.

Paula turned to look at Pierce, making him shrug and look away. "Gate, portal, a fucking dog door, who gives a shit." Paula said.

"Did you really need to bring so many Saints here?" Jane asked.

"Hey, this is The Saints we're talking about here." Gat said. "I mean, if he's threatening The saints, that would mean he's threatening me. And if he's threatening me, then I'm calling dibs to make his arms and legs bend in many painful ways."

Paula looked at Gat. "Hey, at least let me fuck him up first."

"Okay, you got it." Gat said, pulling out his weapon of choice: his K6 Krukov.

"Put away your weapons now or we will detain you." A riot officer said, motioning to The Saints.

"Oh, this here?" Gat said, pointing to his weapon. "This is just for self defense."

"Sir, this is your second warning." The riot officer said.

"No no, let me give YOU a warning. We're just here to provide some help to the police for once. We can leave you alone if you ask nicely though, if you really think you have everything here under control." Gat said, making his recruits chuckle.

"You got some fucking mouth, I'll give you that." He brought his gun up and aimed it at Gat. The Saints brought out their weapons and pointed them at the riot officer.

There was a good, long silence to this Mexican standoff. Gat stood there with a smirk to his face while the riot officer, though ballsy enough to challenge The Saints, and Gat, knew he didn't have enough firepower to take them all on. Especially Paula. He finally yielded. "Dammit." There was simply too many guns pointed to him. He failed to realize that there was other guns pointed at The Saints behind him too, but he didn't know that or need to.

"Smart. I guess pigs CAN learn a trick or two." Gat said, chuckling and telling the followers to stand down.

"Hey uh..." Jane's cameraman said, interrupting the silence and hostile awkwardness. "But we have company." He pointed to the middle of the amphitheater.

A man in sinister looking armor stood before the riot officers, The Saints, and a small camera crew recording it all and sending it live to their news station, in the center of the amphitheater. When the cameraman pointed out that detail, everyone quickly broke their attention from the standoff and aimed their weapons to 'The Overlord'. The Overlord looked around and found the whole situation looking rather even sided. Even though the bullets they have can hit his armor and it would sting like a hundred wasps, but he is feeling rather confident about his odds. At the top of the amphitheater he saw men and women in the violet clothing that he was told that The Saints would wear. He even noted that the same Ruborian he saw earlier today was there. More importantly was the person they were next to. Jane Valderamma.

He rotated his wrist so his palm would face upward, then raised his arm towards Jane. It was a well understood hand signal, which gestured Jane to come to him. She froze, not sure if she should even consider going with him. But after some hesitation, she brought herself to walk forward.

"Jane, what are you doing?!" Paula shouted to Jane.

"If I don't leave with him, then Stilwater would be in danger." Jane shouted back. Her knees quivered. "But if I do end up like Douglas, I'd like you to know that I had fun when you called me from time to time."

"... Fuck this." Paula stepped forward and shot her Kobra pistols at the overlord.

Even though her bullets clanged to his metal, all it did was pissed him off greatly. He glared at The Saint who shot him, his eyes changing color from the white glow to a more yellow-orange tone, almost as though his anger was changing his eye color. After her moment of disbelief, she shot multiple more times at him, making sure to empty one clip first then switch ammo magazines. Bullets made contact with his armor, but they either ricochet or completely stopped and bounced off. After several clips were emptied, silence befallen the entire amphitheater. Even though Paula made the first shot, nobody else began firing. Not even the police for some arbitrary reason. Finally, after Paula decided to stop shooting, The Overlord waved his hand around him in a 135° arc. Many of the riot officers ignited, screaming in pain and succumbing to the flame. As they were distracted by their burning, he turned around and shouted "Twenty browns! Ten reds!" A collection of creatures came out of 2 smaller gates that erupted besides the main netherworld gate. A new species of these imp-like creature was soon found, with cherry red skin that glowed like fire. The overlord turned around and gave a command to his horde. "Go. Lay waste on all my enemies and berserk."

The 'browns' riled themselves into a frenzy and took off in all directions, shouting "Kill!" and "Smashy!" as they ravaged and attacked. The 'reds' coughed something into their hands and threw what they gagged up on whatever is in their range, and continued repeating steps one and two. Riot officers who were not in range of the sudden flash of fire tried to shoot at anything that came after them. They were heavily swarmed, or being ignited by the fiery phlegm balls. Paula was having a hard time keeping track on all of them. She did manage to take five or six down by aiming for their heads. But not even half of them were downed before they started swarming towards The Saints. The Saints retreated as they fired their weapons, bringing Jane with them as she witnessed the horror and might of The Overlord and his minions firsthand.

"Minions, to me!" His army stopped what they were doing and retreated, reforming their ranks behind their master. He then strutted towards The Saints, with minion army to his back, which was ready for any orders that was issued to them.

"Get behind us." Paula told Jane. Being weaponless at the moment, she has nothing else to protect her other than The Saints. A criminal gang protecting an anchorwoman was definitely a strange thing to witness. The Saints retreated a little ways away from the stairs. The moment they spot The Overlord and his bloodthirsty force, they would open fire. The Overlord was not stupid though. He made a simple plan of action on the spot.

He peeked past the stairs and carefully judged the distance Jane was in. After judging the distance between himself and Jane, he ran out a few steps and casted his confusion spell, forcing The Saints to randomly attack. They gunned each other or fought with one another in melee combat. Paula had clocked Gat while he jumped on her and started choking her. Pierce and Shaundi exchanged blows themselves, though Shaundi stunned Pierce with her taser while she was hit over the head with a baseball bat. The batter had also took the liberty to knock out Paula and Gat. The Overlord took his time and pushed passed the chaos to a very confused Jane. "Take her to the gate." he commanded. The minions swarmed her and tugged on her clothing, arms and legs, pushing, pulling and guiding her to the netherworld entrance. Any of The Saints that targeted The Overlord had the honor of being cut down by his flaming axe.

After she was guided to the netherworld gate, she was thrown into the blue haze. Carlon then felt a intense impact hit his shoulder. After the whiplash, he looked to see his shoulder was bleeding from the wound. It wasn't till later that he saw a helicopter up high. Another blow to his chest answered his question on where the first attack came from. He reached behind himself. "Red." He said aloud. And by instinct, a red minion jumped into his grasp. After some careful aim, he threw the red minion at the police helicopter. His aim was unnaturally accurate and powerful as the flying vehicle bursts in flames from within, which made it rotate and descend quickly to the ground.

Even though the crash killed many of the riders inside, a red minion awkwardly and dizzily walked from the crash."Ooohoh, Dat was fun! Huahahaha~!" the red exclaimed, then rushed back to his master.

The overlord turned around and returned to his lair, triumphant of his conquest. He thought and realized that he has a lot of things he needed to do in this new land of Stilwater. Such as finding the one who was responsible for managing the police forces in Stilwater, for one. But that part will have to come later. For now, he can entertain a new guest till he found what he needed.

The cameraman that was with Jane before The Overlord came and annihilated heavily armored police and a large gang of The Saints survived with scrapes and bruises. And he recorded every bit of the battle that occurred. But he didn't count on an extra minion coming out of his van with bits and wires dragging with him. He was still recording with the camera he kept safe, pointing it at the little monster.

"Masta? Masta? Masta, where are you?!" The minion shouted, looking around frantically, like a child looking for its mother. Except this kid was armed with a baton and riot armor that he stole from his victims. The minion eventually spotted the cameraman and he eyed him curiously. The cameraman's mind filled with sudden fear. But all the minion did was ran past him, hitting his shin with a baton and fleeing back to the netherworld gate.

The camera guy stood back up and panned the camera around, and talked as he did so, albeit nursing a wounded shin, his voice trembling. "Everyone, this is Callahan Callahan. I'm pretty sure that this is being recorded, though... I doubt the machines in my van is sending this to the news room, but I'm doing this out of training and habit. As you can see here, the carnage is undeniable. Men and women of the law and of The Saints has been decimated by an unknown force that is referred as 'The Overlord'. He made people catch fire with the wave of his hand, he summoned demons to do his bidding, and he can force the minds of others to his will. His armor is thick, making bullets comparable to firing a BB gun at a brick wall. He recently abducted Jane Valderamma, and I am hoping for her safety. If anyone is hearing this, send the special forces!"

**A/N:I think I might do 2 in one day with time permitting.**


	8. Health Care

**-Revised-**

**Chapter 8: Health Care**

Paula heard beeping near her. It was a very familiar beeping noise that she grew accustomed to, for every time she was admitted to a hospital, the heart monitor would sing its dull song till she was awake. The heart monitor eventually did its job and stirred her from her sleep. Or... 'Recovered' she would guess this was called. She was thankful that because of the Stilwater hospital health policy, the hospital would heal her from many inconceivable and crippling injuries and restore her. One time, she knocked a helicopter out of the sky using the blades of another helicopter she was piloting. Sadly, during that time, she was attracting heat from a rival gang and the fuzz. The Sons of Samedi shot a guided rocket whilst another helicopter, a police chopper, was shooting another rocket at her as well. Both collided onto her aviation vehicle simultaneously, which, in her words, 'smoked' her. She was thankful to know that the hospital only charged a flat rate for physical injuries, or she would have no arms and legs today.

"Hey boss. Looks like you're awake." Carlos said. His zombie smell was strong, but at least it was tolerable. The Saints did make it into a habit to constantly use febreeze around him. Daily, for when the smell was particularly worse. They must have missed a day.

"Cough... What the hell happened?" Paula asked, sitting up in her hospital bed and yanking out the medical IV tubing and heart monitoring wires.

Carlos brought out his smartphone. "Here, check it out. It kept repeating on the news a few hours ago, but I managed to record the video." He showed her everything that had transpired; to every detail she remembered there that day, and then some. Although she did often think that the camera added 10 pounds to her ass and tits. But when the overlord guy came, she saw how that with just a wave of his hand, he ignited everyone inside the amphitheater. Worst piece of information she learned from the news feed was that she suddenly started attacking Gat. He did put up a good fight, but a Saint with a baseball bat went around knocking everyone in the head. The guy with the baseball bat eventually stopped when introduced to a flaming axe. "Even though it probably doesn't concern me, but... why on Earth did you kick the shit out of each other for no reason?" Carlos asked.

Paula watched with perplexity. "What the fuck? I don't remember doing that."

"Yeah... Everyone that was well enough to get out of bed said the same thing. Well... everyone that the hospital could revive." Carlos said, putting the phone away. "If it wasn't for random chance, you would have died from Gat choking you, but you passed out instead. Everyone is in the lobby, waiting for you."

"Fucking stupid, getting knocked out in the middle of a fight." Paula said, getting out of her bed. "Were getting back at that fucker."

"Whoa whoa, hang on boss!" Carlos said, blocking Paula's exit. "It's not a very good idea to run straight into danger when you got creamed just now."

"Carlos, get out of my way." Paula ordered.

"At least talk with Gat and the others first. Okay?" Carlos asked.

"... Only if you get out of my way." Paula said. Even though Carlos stepped aside, Paula glared at him. "You came very close to pissing me off and getting buried." She left Carlos, making him lose his self-esteem and remembering that he is still a walking talking corpse. But he followed after Paula nevertheless.

She went to the lobby and found some surviving Saints. Gat, Pierce and Shaundi was there, but there was only 2 other followers that survived. When Gat saw Paula, he came up and greeted her. "Hey um... Hi. Sorry about nearly killing you." Gat said. There was awkwardness in his voice.

"I'm aware." Paula said. "I just don't understand why we just started fighting each other like we were in The Thunderdome."

"Could you guys stop talking? My headache is pounding. Carlos, can you turn off your smell for me?" Shaundi said, nursing a bruise on her head. Turned out that everyone that was knocked out, or in Pierce's case electrocuted AND knocked out, was lucky to survive the aftermath.

"Kind of hard to do when I'm rotting." Carlos said bitterly and depressed.

"Man, this is very bad." Pierce said, watching the news of The Overlord laying waste to his enemies in the previous day. "Getting smoked like that was very humiliating. None of us looked good."

"We were supposed to after that?" Gat asked Pierce.

"Whoever or whatever he is," Pierce said. "He's throwing science out the window like it was nothing!"

"What do you mean, Pierce." Paula asked. "You mean more out of the window than Carlos?"

"He just waved his hands and all those cops were up in flames, and he threw one of his little guys and knocked a helicopter out of the sky! Now, if I was to speak for everyone here, and I think y'all know it, then we are clearly out of our league."

"Don't say that, Pierce." Gat said. "We were just unprepared. That and he kinda caught us with our pants down when an asshole cop came by and told us to put our weapons away. Oh, and speaking of weapons." Gat said, turning to Paula. "When did it seem like a good idea to start shooting him anyway?"

Paula sighed. "His face was ugly and he expected everyone to just hand over Jane without a fight. Not only that, he called us by name and expected us to hand everything else to him too. I didn't really forget the reason why we came there. We simply saw him as a threat and we acted. Before hell broke loose I only thought of him as a medieval fanatic with little shitspawns, but looking at him now... He's gonna require all of my attention."

"Mine too." an old voice said. Out came a police chief, appearing before the remaining saints. It was an old ally to Paula, who was none other than Troy Bradshaw.

Paula smirked. "Well... this is a sight for sore eyes."

"Save the formalities, we have a problem here and I need everyone to understand that I didn't come here to arrest everyone. I came here to get everyone's cooperation." Troy said, bringing out a cigarette to light.

"Wait a minute. Boss, you know the chief of police?" Pierce asked.

"It's a long time ago, Pierce. I'll tell you the bedtime story later." Gat sarcastically said.

"Glad to see you all mostly well. You too, Gat" Troy said, setting himself down and lighting a match to his cigarette.

Gat sighed, not exactly 'trusting' Troy at the moment. Paula decided to butt in. "Why are you here?" Paula asked.

He blew some smoke before speaking. "I'm here regarding about the safety of the public. I heard what happened today so I came over to see if the leader of The Saints was fine. Even though I'm taking a huge risk coming here, the situation regarding this 'Overlord' is more important."

"And if I were to make a guess, you want us to join the police forces?" Paula scoffed.

"That's not the case. As I said, my concern is with the safety of the public. I came here to ask politely that you refrain from confronting The Overlord."

"Refrain? After all the trouble to getting where I am now, I'm not gonna turn a blind eye to assholes like him."

"No no, I didn't mean give up. What I mean is what I mean, and I just wanted to say that you shouldn't confront him. Like, say, one of your spotters says they find him outside of Brown Baggers or maybe a club and you're thinking 'Hey, maybe we should teach this fucker a lesson.' I'm ASKING you to stay away from his ass and not piss him off enough to make him deal enough collateral damage to force the mayor into hiding. And I won't go into details about the casualties we sustained. With your stunt yesterday afternoon, Stilwater PD is now working in conjunction with the FBI and the CIA in stopping him. I doubt that you have any leads or information regarding this investigation, so I just came by with some advice. You're over your heads on this. Leave it to the officials on the matter and it might all blow over when we capture and contain him."

"Capture and contain?" Gat said. "You might not know this yet, but he isn't some animal. Kinda reminds me of me, except I don't have pyromaniac powers."

"I can imagine the similarity." Troy said, putting out his cigarette. "But right now we have a news anchor that's up and gone, and I think the federal government might just send the military if they get conclusive evidence. What's worse however is that almost half of Stilwater is now having trouble with an infestation."

"What? What kind of infestation?" Paula asked.

Troy Bradshaw went for the remote and casually turned on the lobby's TV. The news was on.

xxx

"This is Callahan Callahan of Channel 6 News, filling in for Jane Valderamma. Following the events of yesterday afternoon when the amphitheater in the Museum district was attacked, both law enforcement and the infamous criminal gang, The Third Street Saints, fell to an entity that has made himself known as 'The Overlord'. Upon making his claims to Stilwater and its resources, and executioning a fellow coworker here at Channel 6, it sparked immediate aggression from The Saints. After the chaos that sparked a fire in the amphitheater, creatures that was seen in Douglas Hatowmer's live feed and recording appeared, causing panic and unrest in the Suburbs Expansion district, Suburbs district, HighEnd Retail district, Marina district, Museum district, and Downtown district. All of northern Stilwater! SWAT units has made several precautions in preventing the creatures, that are now known as 'minions', from entering into the southern side of Stilwater by monitoring and blocking bridge access. Due to the supposed 'supernatural' circumstances that have occurred here, city officials have been safely evacuated from the city. The whereabouts of Monica Hughes, however, remains a mystery. We have just received confirmation that the central government has sent a representative to assess the state of Stilwater. Anyone who is in the infested areas in the north side of the river watching this news broadcast is to remain indoors and keep calm. This is Callahan Callahan, of Channel 6 News."

xxx

Troy turned off the television. "When those things started coming out of the ground, I had to act quickly in getting you guys out of the downtown hospital and into here, in Bario district.

Paula grew even angrier. Gat stood up and shared Paula's anger. Pierce wasn't angry, but rather terrified. Pierce spoke up. "I'm thinking maybe a vacation to Bako or Costa Rica."

"No." Paula growled. "No vacation. Not until this fucking tin can is scrap metal and canned dog food."

"Well... I said my piece." Troy Bradshaw put out his cigarette and started walking to the exit. "But some part of me hopes that you survive."

Troy left The Saints with their decisions set before them. He knew well that they won't take sitting down as an option. He was glad that they were so diligent, despite the fact that they faced an unknown with strange abilities of pyrokinesis and medium-sized monsters that has taken control of northern Stilwater. Part of him hopes that The Saints has it in them to defeat The Overlord. Whether they can or not is undetermined.

**A/N: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOx∞**


	9. A Hidden Dark Side

**Revised**

**Chapter 9: A Hidden Dark Side**

"I am a little curious, sire." Gnarl said to Carlon. "If you don't mind me asking: what is the purpose of capturing this Valderamma person? Or having the minions to cook and set food for the two of you, rather?"

"Simple." Carlon said, stripping himself of his armor. "She is what these people call a news presenter, or anchorwoman, a type of self appointed herald in this day and age. I figured that she is a well known public figure. Not only by capturing her and using her as a subtle propaganda agent would help me immensely, she will also be useful in getting outside information that is beneficial to us. In fact, she could even convince these whelps to serve our goals as well. An appointed public icon that all recognizes and loves, being told by her to follow my lordship. Hahah... But that isn't the only thing."

"Oh?" gnarl asked. "And what might that be?"

"Let's say that I have started noticing her use as an attractive ally, with benefits."

"Ooooohoohoohoohooh, now I see!" Gnarl said in a lecherous way.

"I will give her the decision to join me. If she refuses... Well... I can think of a spell to turn her to my favor." Carlon said, making his fingers arc with electricity.

"Very good, very good!" Gnarl said. He walked down the hallway with an armor-less Carlon. "Now then, I had the minions prepare dinner for you two for the evening, like you ordered. Remember, use the utensils furthest from the plate and work your way in. Be polite, compliment often, and if you present her with a kill and she nuzzles your biceps, it means that you can nibble her ears~!" Gnarl said with excitement in his voice.

"Uh... is that last part about minion copulation etiquette?" Carlon asked.

"... I apologize, sire. I must have have lost my train of thought somewhere."

"... So basically what you mean is just be good with my table manners. I think I can handle an evening on my own." Carlon said, confidently.

"Even so, we have a schedule to keep. Try and hurry this along if you can!" Gnarl said.

Carlon made his way to the netherworld balcony. Even though the atmosphere here is heavy, the balcony itself had an amazing view of the cavern the Netherworld tower resided in. Carlon found Jane there, wearing what the minions thought she would look pretty in. She was in a combination of clothing that was designed by his mothers. When his mothers had time, they would show off to his father when he was not overlording, which was rare.

Jane, though surprised that she wasn't dead yet, was ushered to a seat for her, stationed next to a long black ornate table. Upon waiting patiently, she saw a familiar walnut that walked besides a tall man. She knew immediately that he was The Overlord. She was very positive that he was The Overlord because of his glowing eyes. He sat at the other seat meant for him. It had then dawned on Jane that this might as well be a date. Perhaps a forced date, but...No. No, this can't be a date. Jane refuses to believe that her sleazy coworker, Callahan, is correct about The Overlord wanting to date her. This Overlord was a monster with no regard to human life!

A few minions brought a covered platter to the table and revealed the feast. A cooked bird of sorts with assortments of raided foodstuffs from the surface. Two red minions made two plates, each for The Overlord and Jane. One scuttled over and placed the plate and each utensil. "For lady." the red hissed with a smile. It returned with the other red, both then bowed, and gave Jane and their master some space.

There was some silence at the dining table, and she at first found it hard to try and eat... whatever kind of bird was served to her. She can see The Overlord on the other side of the table cutting his food to pieces and eating already. Drinks was served later, which happened to be sparkling champagne, another raided item from the surface. Carlon was already half finished with his plate. "So..." Jane began. "You're... The Overlord?"

Carlon stopped and looked up at Jane. Even though Jane was a little frightened,she held her ground. Or at least believed she did. "Do you think you already know your answer? After all, I do have glowing eyes." Carlon said smugly.

Jane looked down and felt idiotic. That was a stupid question she just uttered. "..."

Carlon chuckled to himself. "Well, if you really needed to have your question answered that badly, I can abide. I am indeed the very overlord that you and all of Stilwater came to know in a day. Aside from titles, a select few know of my real name. Earn my favor, and you may learn it."

Jane nodded and tried to subtly readjust her blouse. At least she was smart enough to change her camera from her work clothes to this... soft and extravagant dress. Even though it was a mixture of furs with a long, reddish purple skirt and a revealing metal bra, she found a textured cloth to use with her top, leaving everything to the imagination about her cleavage. At least she made a discreet hole in the fabric for her camera. "... Then I guess I'll have to ask the most obvious question. Where did you come from?"

"I once belonged in a place much like your world. Except... not exactly. Allow me to explain. My father created a very powerful portal from a spell he made that enabled me to travel into your world. Though you live in a world where you have Stilwater, I used to live next to Nordberg, Everlight, and the ruins of Spree."

"So that would mean you are a magical extra-dimensional traveler?" Jane asked, surprised.

"If that helps you understand better, then yes. I lived in a world where there are elves, dwarves, halflings, unicorns, dragons, trolls, fairies, mermaids, succubae, rock giants, sand worms, satyrs-"

"Okay okay I get it." Jane interrupted. "You live in a type of medieval fairytale land." She decided to take a small slice of the bird in front of her finally. It actually tasted better than battered turkey. "But what proof is there to make me actually believe that?"

"You're eating a phoenix right now." Carlon pointed out. It almost made Jane gag. "Something wrong?" Carlon asked.

"N-no! Everything is fine." She said, washing the taste with champagne. Eventually, she was downing more phoenix again.

Carlon kept his chuckle quiet as she started eating more properly. "But what about your world, I wonder? What is in your world that makes it so different from mine?"

Jane spoke between swallows. "The differences I can understand here is pretty clear. This world has developed technologies that can far outmatch yours."

"Hmm... Intriguing. What kind of technologies?" Carlon questioned, threading his fingers together and listening intently.

"Pistols, rifles, automatics, things like that." She scarfed bite after bite of oil cooked poultry.

Carlon scoffed. "You mean your weapons? What did Douglas call them...? Guns I think? Yes, guns. Pointless things. But effective in their own right, I suppose." Jane froze at his mentioning of a dead coworker she once knew. Carlon watched her reaction and smiled. "Oh... Did you know Douglas?"

"... He was a coworker." Jane said, furrowing her brow. She stabbed her fork into her meal and left it there. Did this man… monster ask his name before murdering him?

"Ah. I apologize for my manners. I didn't mean to talk about my work at the table."

"You bastard." Jane spat.

"Bastard? Hmm." Carlon said, sitting back into his seat and contemplating this new information. "So would this mean you knew Douglas well?"

"... I just knew that he was stubborn and always put his nose too close to danger."

"Ah... Then you're only cursing at me simply because of my home video I released to everyone." Carlon said, chuckling. "You don't seem to chide yourself much over the fact that it was his fault that got himself killed."

"Amongst other things. From what I know from just a glance at you, you're a monster with no humanity. Any humanity you may have had would simply crumble and fester in your blackened soul." Jane said, not caring that she may have insulted him.

"Hahahaha! Ah... funny thing, that." Carlon said. Jane was confused by her host's reaction. He stood up and paced back and forth along the table. "I had once thought like you did, a long time ago. But you see, I feared my father with all of my being. Whenever I saw my daddy deal punishment to someone, I felt a certain kind of excitement every time. It was akin to fear, but I slowly developed a certain enjoyment from it. When he became ill, his taste for torture became the only thing that satisfied his vices. But one day he was careless. He got too close to a tortured soul and was kicked in his arm. The force alone was able to break it, due to his illness. And I stood above him, nothing more but as an old teenager, watching his father die. I hated the man that wounded my father that day, even though I first thought that it was initially him that killed my dad. But no. Before my father had sent me to this world, I figured that there had been three things that had died as the result of several events coalescing to bring me into maturity, and growing old enough to acquire the title of 'Overlord'. The first thing that died was the prisoner that kicked my old man. The second thing that died was my dad. And then the third thing that died would be my innocence."

"Your innocence?" Jane asked, not sure if she wanted the answer to her blurted question.

Carlon turned to Jane. "Yes. My innocence died. It took me some time to figure out that it had perished that day. But it was only then I understood how it perished, it was then that I knew that I understood why there had to be evil in existence. For evil to thrive there had to be desperation, corruption, anger, and, perhaps, an unbreakable will. But there also had to be temptation. To be tempted to steal, punish, kill, and rule over the weak. You see, I'm an observer to evil. My vessel acts as nothing more but the seat from which I watch my work. But as I gazed upon your world, I saw you and took interest."

"... Me?" Jane asked.

"Yes. You see, we are so much alike." Carlon pointed out. "You seek the violence of your world and share it with everyone, but you seek it just the same, just as I would way back when, sneaking into a dungeon time after time to watch someone die. We both had sought violence for our own agendas."

"We are nothing alike!" Jane exclaimed.

"Oh but we are. I saw the way your lips moved and quivered oh so subtly when near a crime scene. It took me some time to get a working television to watch your news, you see. I obviously don't get cable down here. But I know the look of a killer when I watch them move or stare back at me." Carlon said, walking to Jane.

"That's reassuring." Jane said sarcastically, feeling even more terrified. She didn't like where this was going.

"Oh, but when I said that I had taken an interest in you, I meant it. You see, I brought you down here so that I can give you a proposition."

"I don't like where this is going." Jane said, getting up from her seat. She was pushed back down by Carlon.

"Don't make this easy for me. What I want to propose to you is for you to be my propaganda agent."

Jane blushed and sighed in relief. "Oh..."

"What? Were you expecting a different answer?" Carlon asked.

"I... guess I was." Jane said.

"What did you think I wanted? To ravage you in bed or something?" Carlon asked in an amused way.

"..." Jane became flustered and blushed even more.

"Hahaha! It's alright, my dear." he said, caressing her cheek. "I won't force you onto me. But becoming my mistress does have some benefits."

"Like... what?" Jane asked, getting a tingly feeling through her whole body. Did she really ask that question aloud? Jane felt as though she was not in control of her body at the moment. Was this The Overlord's doing?

"You will serve under me, for one. You can have the minions here in the netherworld carry out my commands, and you will be treated as royalty. Live in the lap of luxury! And tell the people of Stilwater what they want to hear, and have them become more susceptible to my rule, of course. Simple." Carlon said, reaching to pick her hand up and kiss it. "But there are, and can be, other... benefits. If you're willing."

Jane blushed red. Normally if a pervert tried too hard or cop a feel, she would mace them. Many of the women of Stilwater carried mace with them, because of stalkers and sex offenders. Even though The Overlord captured her and brought her to this place, even going so far as to put her in an exotic dinner dress, she now started to believe that he wanted her to join him in his conquest. "And if I don't agree?"

"Hahaha... Then you would be testing my humanity." That comment made Jane nervous. "You see, I have a spell I can use to make you subservient. A fate worse than death as your will is replaced with the desire to serve me and only me. But if you doubt my power, I can always find some servants to subjugate as an example. Maybe you'll find one or two you like, and I can let you borrow them."

"So if I were to decide not to join you, my will would be forfeit." Jane said shakily. Does he really have that power?

"Yes. Didn't you see the look in your coworkers' eyes before I nearly cleaved his head in half?"

Jane nodded. Her heart dropped and fluttered everywhere within her chest.

"You see, Jane." Carlon said, placing a firm hand onto Jane's shoulder. "The thing about humanity is that it can be described in many ways and perceived in several views. From the way I see it, my humanity was not destroyed when my father died. Humanity is nothing more than acceptable behavior that other humans of like-minded behavior can mingle and bond with. I came to terms and accepted my heritage, but my heritage didn't make me into an inhuman monster. Now to be an evil no force can withstand, I must embrace my heritage, or suffer becoming a constant reminder to myself. A reminder that says that I may not become as great as my father did in his glory days, or his father before him. No... To say that I am an inhuman monster is a false assumption. Humans with power always corrupt themselves in some way or another. But what I inherited is an absolute power, and I intend to have as much fun with it as I can. And I know that humans love and crave 'fun', because I too am a human. Like you." Carlon made a tactical pause to analyze Jane. After a once-over, Carlon made a follow-up question. "So, Jane. Would you like to have fun with me?"

Jane was too terrified at this point to say anything on the matter at the moment. Carlon outstretched his hand, his invitation to becoming his mistress still open to her. Any person in their right mind would completely shut down an offer like that. And in Jane's position, she would no sooner throw herself off the balcony and fall into the chasm below. Would she ever hit the bottom? Would she starve to death in her descent? Would she be willing to sacrifice herself so that her will wouldn't be broken? But despite her better judgement, she decided on an alternate route. She tugged her blouse open to reveal a camera she hid within her bosom. "Sorry, Callahan. I won't be getting you the story of a lifetime. But you can have my position, as an anchorman." She switched the device off and pulled out her hidden earpiece. She saw Carlon's look of curiousness, and decided to give him a rhetorical answer. "These are a reporters most useful weapons. Since I won't be one anymore, I have no use for them." She tossed both items over the balcony.

Even though Jane had decided to side with Carlon, it wouldn't be for just keeping her will safe. For one, Jane didn't like the thought of having her will stripped away from her, so she will abide to stay with The Overlord. Other than that, by throwing away her hidden camera, she might be able to give him some reason to start trusting her. It was a display of loyalty, which might change his tone a little more to her favor. Besides, she was still armed with her cell phone. She can relay important information to the surface that can hinder and cripple her 'captor'. Jane was unsure if he was the kind of idiot that was oblivious to having a double agent in his midst. It was the perfect ploy, however. She only hoped that Carlon didn't catch on to her anytime soon.

But she now needed to gain more of his trust. ... Well... She guesses that in times of need, one must sacrifice their dignity.

She held his hand after renouncing her news career. Carlon couldn't be more pleased. Having people choose to be evil is so much more rewarding than simply taking their minds. The trick is to be convincing. But the real challenge is being aware of any double-crossing that may occur in the future. If Jane were to truly defect, then he would have no choice but to take her mind by force. It would be a waste of time to have her sabotaging his plans from the inside, but killing her would be a waste too. Using her to convince the people to obey his lordship would grease the wheels of conquest. But he now has his mistress, and he feels he deserves a reward. "My name is Carlon, by the way."

"Jane Valderamma. Or Mistress Jane. But you already knew my name, right?" Jane flirted.

They both walked away from the dining table. "Indeed. Oh minions? You can have what's left." Carlon said to his minions. The two reds heard the good news and ravaged the entire table seconds later. Handy food disposal for an evil overlord.

"There you are, sire!" Gnarl said, approaching Carlon and his new mistress. "I'm happy to inform you that the green hive has been uncovered."

"Good to know, Gnarl. I'll retire with my mistress, so I'll be expecting some privacy for the time being."

"Ah~! Then the dinner was a success! I think I will embark on phase two of the plan on your behalf, sire."

"Good. I'm off to my private quarters now." Carlon said.

**A/N: Do you think that the first Overlord game would have been better with extra initial forge options? Everyone who played that game knows that adding minions into your forged weapons grant it magical abilities. Here's as follows from the first game:**

**Weapon**  
**Browns: +0,3 normal damage per minion**  
**Reds: +0,3 fire damage per minion**  
**Greens: +0,8% critical hit per minion**  
**Blues: +0,8% knock back per minion**

**Armor**  
**Browns: +1 defense per 10 minions**  
**Reds: +1 mana per 10 minions**  
**Greens: +1 health regen per 10 minions**  
**Blues: +1 health per 10 minions**

**I might be a stickler, but I liked the helmet the way it is.**

**But imagine these forge options if you had some sort of minion infusing device to give you a wide range of armor and weapon effects. Here's my example:**

**Weapon**  
**Browns: +0,3 normal damage per minion**  
**Reds: +0,3 fire damage per minion**  
**Browns and reds: +0,6 mana steal per minions**  
**Greens: +0,8% critical hit per minion**  
**Browns and greens: +0,6 poison damage per minions**  
**Reds and greens: +0,16% confuse per minions**  
**Blues: +0,8% knock back per minion**  
**Browns and blues: +0,6 life steal per minions**  
**Reds and blues: +0,6 lightning damage per minions**  
**Greens and blues: +0,6 ice damage per minions**

**Armor**  
**Browns: +1 defense per 10 minions**  
**Reds: +1 mana per 10 minions**  
**Browns and reds: +0.8% resist element per 10 minions**  
**Greens: +1 health regen per 10 minions**  
**Browns and greens: +0.8% melee damage reflect per 10 minions**  
**Reds and greens: +0.8% miss per 10 minions**  
**Blues: +1 health per 10 minions**  
**Browns and blues: +1% mana regen per 10 minions**  
**Reds and blues: +0.8% mana absorb per 10 minions**  
**Greens and blues: +0.8% range reflect per 10 minions**

**Some of the stats are 0.8% simply because I think it'll be very cheaty to have a 100% miss rate on arcanium armor.**

**But that's my opinion. Some of these minion effects might counter some moulds in Raising Hell DLC, I'm aware. What do you think?**


	10. Hidden Hunters

**Revised**

**Chapter 10: Hidden Hunters**

Paula would not be deterred from getting back at that asshole. She will make sure of that. After a night in the hospital, a lot of things happened. One of the things that happened was the island shaking again with a weak continuous tremor which worried all of Stilwater, making them believe that a volcano might tear the town apart. The tremor lasted 50 minutes, but it didn't put everyone to ease when it ended. The most worrying thing was that all of Northern Stilwater was overrun with The Overlord's minions. And there was still people stuck up there, trying to survive from the large-scale raiding.

Paula had left the hospital a while ago, and through reckless abandon, decided to cause some damage to The Overlord's plans as best as she can, in the only way she can. She brought out her cellphone, hooking up her aviation headset to it, and called Pierce.

Paula: Find out anything about the quarantine?  
Pierce: It's the strangest thing, boss. People keep coming over the bridges one by one, but the blockades SWAT had set up is not permitting anyone across. Minion or human, if you so much as get close, you get shot down. Everyone is running scared in Northern Stilwater because they are trapped with all the minions causing panic, and a bunch of our boys are stuck over there too.  
Paula: Can't they just rent a boat and use it to get over here? Heck, I can swim there and back if I wanted.  
Pierce: That's just it though. From what the boys are telling me from the inside, the minions are patrolling the shoreline and anywhere that connects to the river. Anyone who got too close to the water or to a minion... well... you can imagine what happened next.  
Paula: Then we alert The Saints that if they want their asses picked up from the quarantine, tell them to meet at Centennial Beach. Bring some boats for them to climb into. Tell them that you'll be there within 2 hours.  
Pierce: Are we picking up any civilians too?  
Paula: If they can pull their weight, yeah.  
Pierce: Then I better tell Gat and Shaundi to get all the boats they can rent then. Boss?  
Paula: What?  
Pierce: You said 'you'll'. Like you won't be there with us.  
Paula: Don't worry, I will.  
Pierce: Okay, so you're riding with us to Centennial Beach. Good to know.  
Paula: Actually, I'm gonna fly over the city and parachute my way in there.  
Pierce: Fucking shit, man, why you wanna do that?  
Paula: So I can get as much people with us to storm the beach. I figure that the more there are of us, the harder it's gonna be stopping everyone. Like I said, bring lots of boats.  
Pierce: Got it. One rescue mission, coming up.

Paula was flying in the air, piloting a Wolverine high into the sky. She tilted her plane 90° and looked down at Northern Stilwater. Many buildings were smoking, most ostensibly from fires mostly. She opened the plane's pilot door and leaps out from her plane, going into free fall. She did this multiple times, so she was used to the rush of air that rushed past her body. Good thing she always kept a parachute with her in cases like these. In fact, she could survive any fall since she had base-jumped so many times. People were in awe of her ability to survive a landing, no matter how high. But it'd hurt like hell. After a hard tug, her chute jettisoned out of her backpack and forced her from descending in a lethal falling speed, into a gentle glide that would only injure her ankles if she landed wrong. She landed in the Downtown district where many of the stores were looted and minions patrolled in groups. Luckily, she used a building as cover, and landed between it and an overpass on a small, yet concealed platform. Judging from how tough these little guys are, a bullet to the head would be useless when they just swarm their enemies. Paula would have to avoid the patrols, keeping off the streets as much as possible. She called into her phone and contacted Pierce again.

Paula: Know where our guys are holed up in? I think I'm in Adept Way in Downtown district.  
Pierce: There's a group that are hiding in Huntersfield. There is another group in the store 'Impressions' in Nob Hill. And I think there is one more group in Filmore, inside 'Brass Knuckles'.  
Paula: Got it. Meet you later in Centennial Beach.

Paula hanged up with Pierce and decided to go to Huntersfield. That way she'll work her way towards the Marina district. It was not only a few steps toward her goal that she started holding her nose and almost gagged and threw up at the same time. It was a stench she was not familiar with. Like rotting fish meat mixed with warm shit and skunk spray. She shook her head and soldiered on. But at that moment, she was unaware that some minions already started following her.

When she arrived at Huntersfield, many of the private homes were raided into. She checked one house after another, ready to use dual GDHC .50's when she was caught. Even though she preferred her Kobra's, she needed something extra for a head-kill to these little monsters. Plus, she brought a little extra something just for The Overlord. Finally, she found a house that some Saints were staying in. One of them came out and looked around before speaking to his leader. He wore The Saints colors, but his shirt was tattered. "What are you doing here?" He whispered.

"I came to tell you that you should go to Centennial beach and wait for some rescue boats. Don't go without me." Paula said, deciding that moving in groups might not be a good idea.

"You're leaving us?" A Saint asked.

"No, I'm meeting you back at Centennial Beach. Try and also get anyone else to come with along the way if possible. Don't attract any attention to yourself." Paula said, leaving for Nob Hill and Filmore.

Or she would have if not for the minion that had jumped onto the Saint's back and stabbed him multiple times. Paula swung around, stunned for a brief moment, but then carefully aimed her machete, catching the minion in the face and giving him a deep, face cleaving gash. Once the commotion started, more Saints came out of the house to investigate the tussle. Paula and a collection of Saints started beating the minion senselessly till he was broken and dead. After the scuffle, Paula noticed that this minion wasn't similar in nature to the red skinned and brown skinned minions. Plus, the one they just pummeled with her gang smelled even worse up close. Were these things adapting? It was definitely a new type of minion. "We need to get out of here. When there's one, there's more." A Saint said, 7 of them silently running away, leaving a dead Saint with their leader.

Paula was unsure how that green skinned minion got past her awareness and sliced up one of her crew. She was subtly reminded of the ninja she fought during that one day at the Stilwater Boardwalk. The smell was getting less bad than before. It was probably because she was getting used to the smell. Paula felt like getting a bath after she was done here.

A stealthy trek later, and Paula went to Knob Hill in the HighEnd district to free another group. She wasn't able to get into the store because she saw a bunch of minions that were perusing the merchandise, while a couple were trying to break open a safe and cash register. Paula thought to herself for a moment. '_If I were a Saint, where would I hide in a clothing store?'_ She thought for a bit before thinking that it could have been the back door. She decided to throw a live grenade a distance away, aiming it an a car for the intent and purpose to make it explode. It instantly attracted the minions inside the store, and any minion in hearing range, which then began to flock to inspect the noise. She peered in and found a minionless store once her distraction was implemented. _Perfect. Not a minion in sight in here._ she thought. She sneaked her way inside and found the back area, after carefully stepping over some debris and broken things on the ground. She noticed that the door's knob was stuck. She silently knocked on the door. "Hey?" Paula silently said. "Anyone in there? Any Saints?"

"Boss? Oh boss, oh cheese and crackers, thank God you're here." a voice said.

"Listen. Gather everyone you can and quickly go to Centennial Beach. A rescue party is coming. Don't worry about bringing any beer."

"Thanks boss, I'll get there soon. Huh, I think I deserve a beer after today though."

She heard some objects being scuffled, perhaps being moved out of the way as she heard footsteps leaving the room she listened in on. She sighed in relief and went on to her next stop, carefully ducking away from the eyes of the large crowd of minions surrounding an exploded car. They looked at each other dumbly, as though trying to find out who among them was awesome enough to blow up a car. Too bad they won't realize that it had been Paula who did it.

Filmore. The 'Brass Knuckles' shop that Pierce told her where a group of Saints is holding themselves in, looked ransacked. The windows and door was boarded up, but the door was blocked partway. She cautiously approached the door and spoke first, before popping her head in. "Hey! Any Saints?"

"Don't move." Said a voice from the inside. "We have guns aimed at the door. One move, and you're bloody Swiss cheese. Slowly stick your forearms through the door."

"Excuse me?" Paula asked.

"Stick your forearms through the door or we open fire now. You have five seconds."

"Okay, I get it." Paula said. She slowly stuck her hands into the doorway.

"All the way."

She stick her arms in all the way, and sighed. Do they need to see her biceps too?

"Now wiggle your fingers." She flipped them off. "Cute. You and you, unblock the door."

Two officers unblocked the door and allowed her in, but she was accosted by an armed escort of the two police officers. 9 other police officers was there, making a total of 11. The one that barked his orders spoke first. He had deep, fresh scars all over his face, with an eye that was bloody and bandaged up. He looked upon Paula with scrutiny. "Hahaha, if it ain't the leader of The Saints, trapped in this hellhole just like the rest of us!"

"I like how you're laughing just so you can feel better about yourself." Paula said.

"Oh spare us your rhetoric. You're lucky that we didn't shoot you, or we would get gremlins from the whole neighborhood pouring into here."

"Why did you needed to see my arms?" Paula asked.

"We needed to make sure you were human. Even though these gremlins might act stupid, they're a lot smarter than they look. Last time they tried to fool us, they used severed human arms to try and get in in another building."

"Were there any Saints held up here?"

"There were. They got word that there's a rescue going on for them up north. But then they kinda got ambushed by green little fuckers."

"Green little fuckers?" Paula asked.

"Yeah, green. Like the color of cannabis, except they smell worse than those other gremlins."

"Aren't they just called 'minions', sir?" Asked a different police officer.

"Shut up before I throw you out." His superior said. He turned back to Paula. "Will you promise that those Saints of yours won't shoot us when we come to the rescue party?"

"I'll give you a good word. Just pull your weight and you'll be okay." Paula said, reaching for the door she entered. But suddenly, she stopped when she heard maniacal voices from the outside.

"This way! This way! Lady in here!" a demented voice yelled out, followed by the riled growls and laughs of minions.

Paula looked around for something that would be good for a temporary barricade. She found a display case nearby, pushing it over and blocked the door with it as banging was heard from the other side. Paula went to who she assumed was the leader. "Feel free to go to Centennial Beach if you value your life." She then left through the back door, unbarring it first before leaving. The police officers were in silent agreement and left, following behind her. An explosion was heard later as the Brass Knuckles store exploded. Paula looked back at the officers, most of which were smiling. "What are you smiling about?"

"The improvised explosive we made worked. We turned the stove on before we left."

Paula had to hand it to them. Despite being the law enforcement, they can handle themselves pretty well.

XXX

Carlon felt very good after his night. Jane enjoyed herself too it seemed as she was over his bed, satisfied and aching. Carlon strode out of his chambers with his head held up high. He walked to his armor and chuckled, remembering the details. Some details were sloppy, but Jane couldn't keep up with him. That, and her sexual moaning turned him off when the quaking started. Gnarl finally came up to see Carlon. "Good news sire, phase 2 is in effect. Everyone in northern Stilwater is being hunted as we speak."

"Good. That will teach these people to shoot me in the face again." Carlon said, ordering his minions with a gesture to equip his armor to his person once more.

A green minion came up to Gnarl and whispered into his ear. "... Huh? Well then!" Gnarl turned to Carlon after receiving the green's information. "Sire, it seems as though there is someone in Stilwater who is trying to rescue the remaining people in the northern part of the city."

"Really? Sigh... these people just can't learn." Carlon said, as he was given back his axe.

"But that's not it, sire. I believe that this human is the leader of The Saints! A green minion overheard a conversation of hers, detailing that she will be leading a rescue party to a sandy shoreline called 'Centennial Beach'. Shall we await for The Saints' leader's arrival?"

Carlon picked up his axe and gave it a few swings. "It's about time to find out who he is. Let's go there now."

Carlon walked to the netherworld gateway and used his will to interact with it. The claw-like chandelier opened up and picked The Overlord off the ground, using its magical capabilities. The gate took him to the ruined amphitheater, which still had some burnt bodies still here. "15 browns and greens, and 10 reds." he commanded. They all popped to the surface, eagerly flocked behind him, and readied themselves to loot and pillage on his command. Carlon was especially proud to have the greens by him again. He walked to Centennial Beach, feeling a incremental amount of excitement. Even though some of the sand were stained with blood, it'd make a great spot for relaxing. Or fighting. Or finding out who this Third Street Saint leader is.

"Okay greens. Spread out and guard the beach near the shoreline." The greens hissed with glee and went around the beach, then turned invisible as they guarded the sands. A very powerful weapon for the greens was their ambush power used in conjunction with their invisibility. Not many lived through their stabs. Carlon gave a look-around and found a lifeguard tower in the middle of the beach. It seemed to be the perfect place to hide. He went into the tower, followed by his reds and browns, ducked low and waited patiently. He started to hear the boats that was supposed to be the rescue approaching. And all they needed was the party to come to them. But Carlon and his 'surprise' would intercept them first. He peered above the low open window, careful to reveal his presence to the incoming boats, and saw above the stairs that descended into the beach that there were men in purple, police uniforms, and various civilians. They were weary, but also suffered unrest.

The Overlord waited, waited, and waited till they were so close to the shore and so close to his green minions. Many people at once screamed when something jumped out and started stabbing them. It was Carlon's cue to start his ambush. "Charge!" His browns and reds went and did their carnage on his behalf. Many people were overwhelmed, either becoming wounded or dying altogether.

Paula was prepared this time, careful to aim her pistols at each of the minions heads to take them down. Sadly, they had tiny heads, so it was harder to hit them compared to hitting the head of a human. Carlon noticed this behavior however. And it was then that he recognized her.

"You." He said menacingly to Paula, jumping off the lifeguard tower and walking towards her.

Paula looked back at The Overlord. "Well if it ain't fucking Mr. Mind-games."

"You're the one that shot me in the face, yesterday."

"Duh, dumbass. Should I remind you how that started?" she said, pulling out her BFHCs.

"So who are you supposed to be?"

"You must have lived in a cave your whole life. I'm the leader of The Saints, and no one disrespects me without getting a bullet lodged somewhere." She said, taking aim.

Carlon swung his axe and knocked her pistols out of her hands. She took out her machete and stood in a defensive stance. "And no one rebels against me without dying by my permission." Carlon said in retaliation.

Paula attacked, clanging into his armor and hitting him as hard as she could. But Carlon's might was stronger, as his axe strikes were enough to burn and deal much more pain. She had to break away from him and retrieve her weapons, realizing now that her advantage was her firearms. After performing a tactical roll, she reacquired her BFHC .50s and started shooting at him. Carlon was slow in his armor, but he slowly caught up to Paula as she walked backwards and fired her weapons. Carlon summoned a green from the fight and pointed at Paula, outstretched finger guiding the minion to his target. Paula, hearing a small pitter-patter of an approaching green that broke away from a corpse, switched back to her machete again and struck twice. Once to sever an arm from the elbow, and the other to cut the minion in half. Even though these green minions are dangerous when behind someone, they are actually weaker than the browns. But she wasn't paying attention to Carlon, who now readied a hard blow with a downward strike. Even though she tried to dodge the attack and block at the same time, her machete was broken in half from the blow.

"Oh, fuck this!" She pulled out an XS-2 Ultimax shotgun and started unloading 12 rounds in quick succession. Each blow pushed back Carlon till he fell over. She looked down at the fallen overlord. Did she slay him?

He sluggishly got back up, shaking his head and breathing heavily. "That... hurt." He said through clenched teeth, his eyes slowly becoming a glowing lemon color as his anger festered.

Paula started reloading her weapon and looked behind herself. Despite there being death amongst the minions and the citizens of Stilwater, there were a few refugees that made it past the beach and started swimming towards the boats. When she was done reloading her shotgun, she turned back on the overlord to start firing at him again. This time however, the gunshots didn't faze him as much, looking as though an aura surrounded him while she unloaded on him. Carlon still approached and growled at Paula. "Magic beats blunderbuss." After his remark on the futility of a technological weapon being used on defensive magic, he casted a fireball at Paula. Her abdomen felt like it was hit with a sun. She instinctively went onto her stomach on the cool sand and rolled.

"Hey boss!" Paula looked to the water after hearing a familiar voice. She found Gat piloting a speedboat, getting out a sniper rifle and shooting a few rounds at Carlon.

Carlon's axe was shot out of his hand, while the next two shots made his head jerk back violently. Even though he has his shield spell active, those sniper bullets still hurt. Before Carlon was able to shake free from his small concussion, Paula, the apparent leader of The Saints, was swimming towards her allies. He glared at Paula and shouted at her. "YOU CAN'T WIN ANY FIGHTS BY RUNNING AWAY!"

Paula got herself onto the speedboat. She founded something there that brought a smile to her face. She looked back at Gat and he just nodded, giving her a silent answer, as though he soundlessly said 'Yeah, I know. Ain't I thoughtful?' Paula picked up the present Gat brought and pointed it at The Overlord. It was an RPG launcher. "WELL YOU CAN'T WIN ANY FIGHTS BY DYING NEITHER!" She sent a rocket, aimed at Carlon, The Overlord.

Carlon decided to use his best defensive spell in the shear split second he had. The rocket struck and exploded on its mark, creating a small cloud of smoke from the explosion. When the smoke cleared however, Carlon was still standing. He seemed to be surrounded by a golden light before it faded away.

"... Okay, rockets have no effect on this guy. I'm willing to say he's supernatural." Gat said, shifting gears and preparing to run away.

Carlon was feeling quite irked, and used his confusion spell on one target. Gat convulsed all of a sudden, and then started attacking Paula. She looked at Gat once and knew that something was up when he started aiming his sniper rifle at her. She sprinted forward and knocked away his aim on her, then pulled away his sniper rifle when he tried to aim it at her again. With a hit from the butt of her broken machete, she decided to commandeer the speedboat before The Overlord decided to control her mind next. Counting the people she rescued, she figured that she must have saved about one fifth of the people she found and brought to the beach. Sadly, the sand only became redder due to her actions. She wasn't really sad by it though. But she now realizes the kind of power that The Overlord has.

Carlon huffed and kicked sand in frustration. "_Sire._" Gnarl said. "_You need to be more careful next time. Your mana was almost completely used up!_"

"It will restore itself. Gnarl, I think it's time to find out more about the leader of The Saints."

"_Well, all we know about the bitch is that she is responsible for millions of dollars of damage and so much wholesale carnage and death to Stilwater! Being the leader of a well known criminal gang, she bought many stores and created a fearsome name for herself._"

"_You clearly don't know the half of it._" Jane said, now coming into the conversation.

"_Oh, Mistress Jane! How pleasant to have you here! You just missed an impressive battle between the master and The Saints' leader_." Gnarl said.

"_Since my darling is alive, I'm assuming his victory is achieved?_"

"_Well... not quite. The Saints have made a tactical retreat._"

"_Typical._" Jane sighed. "_If you really wanted to destroy Paula, I would suggest going for her assets._"

"_Oooooh, sounds very appealing~!_" Gnarl said perversely.

"_Her financial businesses, Gnarl. Try not to drool everywhere._"

"_Oh. Right._" A dejected Gnarl said.

"_Carlon, my lord, I believe that you may have to find certain individuals in this town. In order to get all the funding you will ever want, defeating these people will be key._"

"How so?" Carlon asked.

"_Simple. There are three people that need to be found and dealt with. The first one that will be a problem for us is this city's chief of police, Troy Bradshaw. With him either captured or out of the picture, law enforcement would suffer a heavy blow, enabling us to do whatever we want and however we like it. The second person we need is Monica Hughes. We will need her if all of the city is to belong to us. Plus, as a municipal government official, she will be able to grant us special resources and additional funding. Lastly, the third person is the one we most definitely have to take care of. Johnny Gat. He's an insatiable fighter, even though he is only the right-hand-man in The Saints. Taking him down will be difficult, so I suggest taking down The Saints lieutenants as a side objective. Once all three of them have been dealt with, all that stands in our way is Paula._"

"Paula is her name? How do you know her?" Carlon asked, turning to leave the beach and ready to head back to the netherworld.

"_She sometimes calls me when she needed some backup. She refers to people that she can rely on in a fight and are somewhat close to The Saints as 'homies'._"

"'Homies'? Hmm... not to sound like a person that is not technology savvy, but does that mean you have her number on this 'cell phone' device?" Carlon asked, calling his remaining minions to himself.

"_Yes, I believe we can use that!_" Gnarl said aloud. "_Sire, using this 'cell phone' thingy, we can orchestrate the demise of our enemies and help us to our rise in power. I'll see what I can do here and make a plan with Mistress Jane. In the meantime, I do believe it is an opportunity to tell everyone in Stilwater that you can't contain raw and pure evil! Let us make another broadcast, shall we?_"

Carlon smiled.

**A/N: Took me a culmination of 2 days to make this story. Yup. I'm a fast typer.**


	11. America's F-ed Up Home Videos

**Revision complete**

**Chapter 11: America's Fucked Up Home Videos**

Paula was in one of the hideouts she owned, having already arrived in one hours later. Specifically the Saints Row Mega Condo. She was nursing all of her wounds from her most recent encounter with The Overlord. She would have thanked Gat for bringing some extra firepower had he not attacked her. At least he was tied up at the moment.

Pierce was silently watching the aforementioned Gat, making sure he doesn't start attacking psychotically while Shaundi helped Paula to heal. And Carlos was there too, but he was moping as he watched the TV there, scouting for news, though his zombie brain made it hard to track much information these days. He didn't understand what other reason why he came other than for emotional support. Johnny Gat eventually roused himself from his unconsciousness. "Ugh... Boss?" He called out, slightly struggling from his bonded state.

Pierce held up his gun. "Yo Gat. Is that you? I mean... 'you' you?"

"Pierce?" Gat said, confused and dazed. "Why... why are you aiming a gun at me?"

"Boss said to keep an eye on you. She told me you attacked her again when that Overlord guy pointed at you." Pierce said. "Are you... you?"

"Uh... I guess so. Can you untie me now?" Gat asked.

"Sorry man. I got strict orders not to untie you."

"What? Why?" Pierce said, agitated.

"I told you, you attacked the boss during the rescue. Until she says otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to stay seated. Sorry Gat."

"You know that I can break out of my chair, right?"

"Why'd you think I have a pistol?"

"... Good point."

"How is he?" Paula asked, leaving Shaundi and walking to where Gat was being held. She kept her distance from him, just in case Gat decided to lurch toward Paula and headbutt her. Shaundi decided to remain idle and just listen to the exchange for the moment.

"A natural born dick as usual. Uh... No offense though." Pierce said.

"Mind explaining what happened to me?" Gat asked, shifting a bit and trying to get comfortable.

"You went batshit and started to aim your sniper rifle at me. I'm thinking that 'Overlord' guy tried to make us fight each other again. You doing okay?" Paula asked, inspecting the bruising injury she made on him during the time of the rescue.

"I guess so. At least it's better than pushing up daisies." Gat said, grunting. "Can you get me out now?"

"Sure." Paula used her broken machete to slice off his bindings. Pierce stood straight up and went behind his chair, Aiming his gun in reflexive instinct.

Gat got up and rubbed his wrists. "Sigh... yup. Not really looking forward to getting forced by his brain control powers of his again. Is it too late to sit out the next mission?"

"Maybe, Unless that was supposed to be sarcasm." Paula said, stifling a chuckle.

"It was. Fool me twice, shame on me or whatever the expression it is, but this is now a vendetta." Gat said, kicking his chair away.

"Good." Paula said. She went to a couch and sat her ass down on it, trying to relax. "But the mission was a bust. A lot of our crew and a bunch of others didn't make it. I don't know why I had to knock you on the ass like that, but if there is any in-fighting and friendly fire, I'll just assume that it's The Overlord's doing."

"So do I have to wear an aluminum cap or something?" Gat said, sitting down with Paula, Pierce aiming his gun at Gat still. Gat looked up at Pierce with a discerning glare."... Hey, put that fucking thing down. Boss, can you uh... tell him to put his piece away?"

"You heard Johnny." Paula said. Pierce holstered his gun reluctantly. Paula turned to face Gat, deciding to get his opinion on what to do next. "So what's our next mission on getting rid of this fucker?"

"No fucking idea." Gat said, rubbing his wrists. "I don't know many people that can withstand a rocket to the chest. Other than that Overlord guy. I'm stumped."

"Wait. This guy survived a rocket?" Shaundi asked in surprise, now wanting to chip into the conversation.

"Yeah, I saw it happen. I was there too, you know." Pierce said.

"I didn't see you there." Paula said.

"That's because I was on another boat. Well... you probably couldn't see me anyway because there were so many boats there."

"Back to the topic," Gat interrupted. "You didn't say that you were under his mind control power this time. Did you feel your mind blacking out and remembering no shit?"

"No, I think I didn't get my mind controlled that time." Paula replied.

"Well... why did he target just me?"

"Wait wait wait! I think I know!" Pierce said, speaking out. "This is a theory, but I'm thinking that when he ignites and throws his fireballs and stuff, or when he somehow is unfazed by whatever kind of bullet or RPG round we send at him, or even make people batshit crazy and make them attack each other, he must be using some kind of source of power to make shit like that happen. Like having some reserve of magic for his spells. If that's the case, then maybe he was trying to keep some of his magic for some other plan, or was running out of it?"

"That or he wanted to make it personal for me, and thought that me having to kill Gat, or having him kill me, was the best revenge scheme for getting back at me for shooting him in the head."

"Or both." Shaundi said, whom decided to join Paula and Gat, sitting with them and plopping down.

Everyone looked at Shaundi. Except for Carlos. "... Well shit. Maybe that too." Pierce said.

"Okay, firstly: Magic?" Gat said. "Kinda throws science out of the window, but I think we're past that point. Second: Either he's got some anger issues, or he's egotistical. Kinda leaning on the former on this one, but that's just me assuming on what kind of character he has."

"How about we try to figure out his next move?" Pierce said. "If his end goal really is just to control all of Stilwater, wouldn't that mean he would try to find the mayor?"

"That's fine and all, but the news said that she's missing. The more believable story I think happened is that she's actually hiding after seeing that video recording, and hearing about the events that happened at the Thalia Amphitheater." Paula said.

"Well shit... What now?" Shaundi asked, seemingly to no one in particular.

Then there was a knock at the door. Everyone had aimed their weapons at it, prepared for another minion outbreak in case The Overlord decided to come into their neighborhood. But they stood down and sighed in relief when they saw Troy Bradshaw again when he flipped back his hood. He had a frantic look to his face this time. "You again?" Gat said. "But I thought we paid our parking tickets?"

"Shut the hell up and watch this." Troy said, rushing in and turning on Paula's DVD player. He placed a disk on its disk tray and let the DVD player do its job.

XXX

The video played and showed the image of Jane Valderamma in her work clothes, despite being slightly torn. Muck covered her, and a look of desperation was in her face. She seemed to be in an obsidian prison. "I don't know if this will get out to the public. I'm hoping that I can record a message for Chief Bradshaw. I'm currently a prisoner in this place that these... 'minions' are calling 'the netherworld'. I don't have much time. I heard that he's going to attack the university, but that's all I know about his plans. Oh god, he is a madman. An absolute monster! I'll try to get more of these videos out if I can. If Troy gets this message, he needs to find the leader of The Saints and call me through her." The video ended as she reached toward the camera.

XXX

Troy turned to Paula immediately after the end of the video message. "You have her cellphone number, right?"

"Yeah, I do. I have her listed as a homie." Paula replied.

"Can you try calling her?" Troy asked.

Paula nodded, getting her cell phone and calling Jane. There was a few rings before the call was picked up. "I'm putting it on speakerphone."

XXX

Jane: Paula! Oh, I'm so glad to hear from you again.  
Paula: Easy, news lady. I got Troy right here if you want to talk to him.  
Jane: Put him on!  
Troy: You're on speakerphone, Jane. You're on speakerphone right now. Can you tell me where you are?  
Jane: I... I don't know. I went into that gate and I'm now in a very hot place all of a sudden. Everything down here looks like some sort of volcanic environment. But that is not important right now. You have to go to the university and stop him there!  
Troy: That's good, Miss Valderamma. I'll tell the CIA about the attack right away.  
Jane: There is also something else. The brown, red and green colored minions all have a major weakness that I learned.  
Troy: Well that's great. Can you tell us what it is?  
*knocking noise*  
Jane: I can't talk now. I need to go.

XXX

Troy cursed under his breath while everyone else watched his response. "I guess we know where to hit him next." Paula replied with a stern look, cracking her knuckles.

"No. You are not to pursue this guy right now." Troy said, shaking his head and turning to the DVD player.

"What?" Paula ask in confusion.

"I can't let the general public know that I used to work with The Saints. If they found out, I would be out of the job. That disk alone almost ended my career, and I can't take any more chances." Troy said. He went to the DVD player again, took out the DVD disk and broke it in quarters. He then gave the pieces to Paula. "Just to be sure, put that through the microwave before I go."

"Tell me why I can't come to the university. I hope it's a good reason." Paula asked, accepting the broken disk reluctantly.

"Because we are the only people who know this. If The Saints and police were to suddenly increase in activity and The Overlord attacks the university, the CIA is going to figure out about my involvement." Troy said, going to the door. "But, once that he's attacking again, I want you to bring everything. Don't start coming to the party when it hasn't even started yet." Troy stopped and scrunched his face as he started smelling the air. "Blegh, what is that smell?"

"Oh, uh, sorry." Carlos said. "It's me."

Paula shook her head. "Well that's fine, but do we know when he's attacking?"

Troy went to the door. "That's the tricky part. I'm going to meet someone and inform them that there is an anonymous tip that the university is getting attacked soon. Stay well." Said Troy. And with that, Troy left.

Gat leaned forward on the couch he sat in. "Well, I guess all we need to do is make a plan now."

**A/N: WHY, FANFICTION DOT NET? D:**


	12. Attack from Claflin

**-Revised-**

Chapter 12: Attack from Claflin

Overlord Carlon emerged from a netherworld gate that was opened up from the peak of Mount Claflin. The gate nearly pushed over the radio tower located there. He gazed westward for his target: Stilwater University. Even though he commanded the people of Stilwater to send him funding and an import of animals, he felt that their refusal omitted their punishment. Only one part of their punishment was given to less than half of its people, and he will keep punishing till he gets the funding and animal imports he demanded. Yet there was still a lot of evil to do.

"_I hope you didn't mind the wait, master. The minion diggers found it appropriate to create a gate at the top of this hill._" Gnarl said.

"It's a little exposed." Carlon said. "But the university is close, so there's that."

"_Shall we harvest the lifeforce in this region as well, sire?_"

"No. We need servants." Carlon said, summoning a horde of 50 of his best minions.

"_Very well then, sire. There is always something devious I enjoyed about the evil presence spell. Hehehe._"

"Since you are SO preoccupied in watching me, perhaps you can tell me where our other target is?" Carlon said, walking down the road and heading to the location of his next objective.

"_Troy Bradshaw, from what I surmise, would most likely be at the police station in Barrio District or the one in the Saint's Row district. We'll need to draw him out._"

"Saint's Row district? Like the name of the ironic gang?"

"_From what little information I can gather from the 'world wide web', The Third Street Saints originated in the Saint's Row District. But that's all I know on the topic. Despite how free the information is using the internet, finding anything worthwhile is a chore! And I'm not going to mention on how many distractions and pornographic material people put in it on a daily basis._"

"... Sounds like you've been keeping yourself busy." Carlon said, finally finding his way to the foot of Mount Claflin.

"_Er... anyway, go forth and make your subjects submit to your rule! ... I'll be nearby if you need me._"

Carlon stifled a laugh, but he kept on. He eventually found his way to the Stilwater university, walking through the streets and nearing the center of the target. His presence there scared many bystanders, forcing them to feel the need to run away. Carlon would no doubt attract police to him very quickly at this rate. He depended on that, however. When he found himself between the Student's Union and Art buildings, he turned to his minions, each of them looking up and awaiting to throw down their lives, unquestionably, in his service. "Alright, minions. go in groups of two and capture a student, a professor, or anyone who needs an evil presence casted on them. If you find any hostile forces on your way, don't get yourself slain."

The minions nodded in unison and went in pairs in different directions. Each pair of minions would bring back a person for Carlon to use his evil presence spell on. Once the spell washed their will in the most painful of ways, he instructed his new servants to bring more people to him. "Oh, and Gnarl? I might need a waypoint gate in my current location. Think you can rouse the minion diggers to the task?"

"_Of course, master._" Gnarl said. "_In fact, I'll do even better and have them get minion gates at your location as well._"

The servants that Carlon was converting to his rule was slowly increasing in number, slowly reaching above a hundred and more. It wasn't long until the police came to the scene. Or rather, the SWAT. They positioned themselves a farther ways away from Carlon than he expected, rather than getting close and risking getting in range of his fireball pitching reach. But Carlon had a ingenious idea about dealing with snipers that would pester him. "Servants! Enslaved! Followers and submitters of my rule! To me!" The people he turned to his will turned to him, their eyes blank, though sparkled as they watched and listened. "Stand between me and my enemies, and stand between my minions and their attackers. Should these 'officers' of the law try to detain you, strike them down and bring them to me!"

With their command fresh in their minds, they circled around their new master, student and teacher, hand in hand, while a few went with the minions to help as they brought more people to their master. Not only that, a few of the law enforcement that were unlucky to try and pull people away from him were added to the ring of servants and escorting the minions. The SWAT forces were forced to fall back to a safer distance.

XXX

Troy: University is under attack now. That's your cue. Be warned though, he's using a strange tactic.

Paula: Like what?

Troy: I have no fucking clue! But it's working and we can't get near without hurting people. You usually hurt people, right?

Paula: This is me your talking about.

Troy: Then it's not my problem to worry about.

Paula: What's preventing you from letting your guys use excessive force?

Troy: Can't talk now. Just get here and you can see for yourself.

XXX

Paula had Shaundi ride with her to the university. That and a few other Saints were driving with them too. They were escorted by 6 four-seaters, 4 two-seaters, and 5 bikes, each a rider to a total of 37 Saints ready to cause some grief to The Overlord. They found the panic that was occurring in the university campus grounds and they both saw what Troy had meant. The Overlord and his minions was using people as bodyguards.

"Well... This is weird." Shaundi said, looking over the crowd of minions pulling people into the center, and other people with dazed and neon glowing eyes standing around him and growing in number.

"Yeah I see that. Where are the cops?" Paula asked.

Shaundi looked around. "I see a few in the circle there. ... I think I figured out why they're not acting. I think he might be using his powers to force them to stand in a circle, and the police are standing down because they don't want to cause any casualties. Even then, it's kind of hard to make out what's going on here."

"Wait. I think there's a Saint in there." Paula said aloud, squinting her eyes and focusing on the crowd around The Overlord. "Something's wrong with his eyes." She then stepped out of her car.

"It's all of their eyes." Shaundi squinted, noticing Paula's discovery. "I think I see The Overlord." She stayed in the car.

Carlon took a megaphone from one of his servants and pointed it at the police. "**Listen here, listen now, and listen well. I request the presence of the chief of police. Failure will result in the deaths of ALL of these people, and the rest of the island will be harvested of their remaining lifeforce!**" Carlon bellowed. He motioned for one of his enslaved followers to him, a purple wife-beater wearing Saint. He knelt down while Carlon positioned the blade of his flaming axe against his throat. With a quick twist he broke and sliced his neck, making the gang member falling down hard and fast, a puddle of dark red forming beneath the first victim. Carlon raised his megaphone again. "**Every minute that passes means another person is lost. Bring the Chief here or more will be on his head!**"

Paula gritted her teeth from seeing one of her crew getting put down like that. What was worse was that the Saint willingly allowed himself to get iced without fighting back. "How are we gonna fight him with all those people in the way?" Shaundi asked finally.

"If he thinks he's using my crew as his personal bullet shield, he's got another thing coming." Paula said, taking a sniper rifle out.

"Wait... Is that Troy?" Shaundi asked. "He's not going to listen to this maniac, is he?"

Troy made his presence known, wearing riot gear sans the helmet. He aimed his own megaphone at The Overlord. "**This is Troy Bradshaw,**" he replied. "**the Chief of police of Stilwater.**"

Carlon responded, raising his megaphone and pointing it at Troy Bradshaw. "**Ah good. You're fashionably early. I was wondering whether you would arrive or not.**"

"**Why did you want to talk to me?**"

"**I have a demand.**"

"**What is your demand?**"

"**Come over here and I'll tell you.**"

"**Uh... I think I'm fine over here, thanks.**"

"**Suit yourself.**" Carlon went to one of the converted SWAT officers, putting a blade to the nape of the officer's neck.

"**STOP, STOP! Alright, I'll come over. Just don't hurt or kill anyone else.**"

"Don't tell me what to do. Come now or he's on fire and headless!" Carlon shouted, since he was sans a megaphone at the moment.

Troy lowered his megaphone and talked to an officer beside him. "I want snipers here and now. Take the shot if you can."

"Don't talk to anyone else other than me, Troy. It's making me feel a little ignored!" The Overlord broken the Swat officer's neck. "Oops. You better get here. Any longer and he's going to drown in his own blood soon."

Troy picked up his megaphone again. "**ALRIGHT! I'm coming over now.**" Troy dropped his megaphone and went right over to Carlon, pushing past the enslaved and carefully avoiding the minions. He bides his time and walked at a slow, but brisk pace. He stood before Carlon after walking to him. "I'm here. Just like you asked. Don't hurt these people."

"I didn't ask, I demanded." The Overlord said. The minions around Troy cackled evilly.

Troy looked around himself. "Well... Here I am. ... You said you just wanted me?"

"Yes." Carlon said.

"Killing me won't do any good."

"Which is why I'm doing this instead." Carlon raised his left hand at Troy, prompting Troy to raise his gun and firing a few rounds before he was surrounded and trapped by minions. The evil presence spell he used took longer than Carlon expected. "Fall under my spell. There we go. Just let go of your will." Troy slowly stopped struggling, feeling limp as he was being dominated by a magical lightning surrounding him, focusing on his head and making it feel as though serpents of energy are licking and swallowing his brain.

"Fuck this." Paula aimed her sniper rifle and shot at The Overlord's arm. Carlon was forced from casting the desired effect on Troy from the sniper shot. Even though the bullet passed through 3 other people, the round stopped completely when it went into his armor. His arm went limp, but he stared back at his attacker.

"Paula." He whispered to himself.

"_It's the Saint's leader again!_" Gnarl said.

"**Open fire!**" Said a SWAT officer. Troy groggily started to rush back to his forces when the firefight started. Even though Carlon was the focus of the fight, the law enforcement were more focusing on the incoming Saints, and vice versa. Troy got himself into a police cruiser and was making his getaway in it.

Carlon had to retreat to the waypoint gate near him so his health would return, which also had the benefit of restoring his mana pool as well. He also activated his sanctuary spell near the gate so he would have unlimited protection. "Dammit!"

"_Sire, you can always double back to the gate on Mount Claflin. If you hurry, you might catch Troy on the way!_"

Carlon couldn't deny the strategy. "Minions, to me!" Every minion in their overlord's horde dropped what they were doing and came to their overlord's call. Carlon then headed into the waypoint gate, leaving the enslaved behind.

Paula cursed under her breath. "The tin man left. Mother fucker!" She kicked the ground angrily.

Shaundi sat back and thought. "Wait... why would he leave so quickly like that?" She thought about it for several seconds before Shaundi realized what The Overlord's goal truly was. "Troy! Get in the car! Now!" she replied, shouting to Paula.

Paula had a confused expression, but went back into her car and turned on its engine. "Troy? What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I'd feel safer if I didn't find out. I think it's for the best that we follow Troy and make sure he's okay." Shaundi took out a sub-machine gun in case there needed to be a drive-by.

"I never would have thought I'd be saving a cop in my career." Paula said, driving away to catch up with the chief of police, leaving the gang of Saints she brought with her to contend with the SWAT, with the enslaved that quarreled at the two forces.

XXX

Carlon took the quickest route, and was at the peak of Mount Claflin yet again. Summoning his minions again, he then ran straight down the hill and traveled on the northern road. When he saw Troy's five-O, Carlon reacted quickly and used his slow spell on his car. Even though Troy spotted Carlon and tried to swerve to avoid him and his spell, it was already too late. His car was now rolling at the pace of a brisk walk. Once Carlon's target was vulnerable, he pointed at Troy's car. "Bring him to me!" All of the minions pounced onto Troy's police cruiser and teared its roof off, picking him out and dragging him to Carlon's presence, the police car eventually being torn apart and turning into scrap for the junkyard. "Stay still this time." Carlon said to a flinching Troy.

But then a car happened all of a sudden. Specifically, Paula driving into the minions and into The Overlord, making him fly several feet away, as well as his minions. Troy was shaken up quite a bit, but he recovered and stood up shakily. A few minions survived the crash and ran to their master's aid. Paula meanwhile, smiled at Troy. "Sup."

"... I never felt this glad about a gang leader saving my hide. Can you take me to the police headquarters?" Troy said, smiling back and panting.

"Sure. Hop in and strap up." Paula said.

"Boss. Go. Now." Shaundi said, her voice almost trembling with fear.

Paula looked at Shaundi, then looked at whatever she happened to be looking at. Carlon apparently recovered quickly and rushed to Paula's car and yanked Shaundi out of the passenger seat. He pinned her down under his boot and then started whacking Paula's car with his axe. Her car was getting cut and burned with each swing. "Shaundi!"

"Go boss! I'll try and hold him!" Shaundi said, grabbing onto Carlon's foot in an attempt to keep him in place.

Paula felt a small amount of guilt in her core when her lieutenant told her to go on without her. But Paula had to act now, and so in the heat of the moment, drove away. Carlon huffed, but then peered down at the trapped Shaundi under his foot. He leaned down to her and inspected her. She must be feeling thoroughly intimidated. "So." Asked Carlon. "How do you plan to hold me?"

She pulls a satchel charge out and attached it to him, then she pulled out the trigger device. "If you move, we both die."

"I like your dedication to your leader." Carlon said, smiling as his eyes flashed a bright yellow.

"It comes with the territory of being a Saint."

"It would be better to join me. Don't you think?" Carlon said, digging his boot into the trapped Saint.

"What makes you think I would do a crazy thing like that?" Shaundi yelled, trying to move his boot off her.

"This." Carlon placed his left hand onto her face, electricity flowing through her body and altering her mind. Her willpower was strong, but it gave in to the evil presence spell eventually. Shaundi was no more, as her will was forcibly replaced with the desire to serve Carlon. Carlon sighed and turned behind himself to his remaining minions. There were only 7 left. "You two. Take this lass to the netherworld for Gnarl to question."

His minions nodded and went to Shaundi, and guided her up the mountainside. "_Ooh, she's quite the catch, sire! I wonder what kind of questions I'll be asking her?_" Gnarl said in a peevish tone.

"Ask her about The Saints first, and then any important and vital information to help us conquer this city." Carlon said.

"_Right away, sire. Though we have not captured Troy like we wanted, we can at least salvage something from this muck up!_"

"How is the blue minion hive?"

"_It's taking its good time, sire. Hopefully, uncovering it and the blues will help us tremendously in our conquest! ... Oh, ah, just a minute sire. ... Oooh, I see. Yes. I'm telling him now. No. What? No, go away. If you ask me that, then everyone would want one! Sire, I'm glad to inform you that the blue minion hive has been uncovered._"

"What were you talking about?"

"_Oh, some minions wanted laptops for themselves. I keep telling them that they would break them the moment they got one! You'd be surprised how delicate and fragile these devices are. But we can always steal some if we needed them. Shall you be retreating to the netherworld as well, sire?_"

"May as well." Carlon said, traveling uphill and went back into the netherworld gate. "Troy can wait."

**A/N: Hmm... I'm thinking that maybe The Overlord games could be better if you can change the formation of your minions. Maybe.**


	13. Hallowed Ground Erupts with Evil

**-Revised-**

Chapter 13: Hallowed Ground Erupts with Evil

Paula took Troy to the police headquarters in the Saint's Row district. Extra patrols of police and SWAT was lacking in this district, no doubt most of them arresting and dealing with the people who were trying to protect The Overlord at the university, as well as the Third Street Saints that got into the mix. They even had to arrest their own forces. Paula stopped at the front of the Stilwater Police Department. She turned her car off then turned to Troy and asked: "Hey Troy. What the hell was happening between you and the tin man?"

"I... don't want to talk about it." He said, opening the car door to get out.

"Troy, we have the same enemy. If we're going to get rid of him one day, then we must share as much as we can about him so we can focus on getting rid of the fucker." Paula said.

"Listen, it's already awkward enough that I'm here in your car and you're the one that's debriefing me for a change. That Overlord guy tried to make me like one of the people that was protecting him from us." Troy leaned to Paula. "And between you and me, our history together is something I want to keep in the past."

"Come on, Troy. You can't hide the fact that you're still loyal to The Saints. Even someone as blunt as me can figure something like that out. Well... provided that it was years after my coma."

"It's not like that." Troy said, trying to steer clear of the topic.

"But it is. You were an undercover cop at the time, and then you grew on us. You just happened to care a little bit too much about yourself, and got yourself out because of self doubt, or maybe because you thought that if we found out, we would be coming for you or something."

"... Yeah. Something like that, I guess. If anything, I would understand if you called me a traitor. I would if I was in your shoes."

"... Listen. I'm not mad at you. But granted, I might have been if I found out you had also ratted me out a few other times before I went into that coma long ago. But with that being said, we have a common enemy now. Julius is now dead, you know. I'm willing to forget everything if we help you take The Overlord down."

"I appreciate that, but I can deal with 'the tin man' on my own terms. It's not that I'm only worried about my career, I'm also worried about having bad blood between us."

"That depends. Did you knew about the bomb before or after it detonated?"

"It more felt like that even if I learned about it before it happened, I wouldn't be able to stop it in time."

Paula shook her head and laughed. "So it was afterwards then." She gave him a comforting rub on his shoulder, then playfully tapped it with a half-clenched fist. "Don't beat yourself up too much. But I still have to know one more thing."

"What?"

"What was The Overlord trying do to you back then?"

"It's... kinda hard to explain." Troy said, trying to sit comfortably. "It was painful as hell. Like, going through shock therapy I guess, but it was a lot more visceral. It... it-it felt like he was forcing something into me."

"Like a lightning penis?"

"No, it wasn't like a physical rape but... it was more like a mental brainwash I think. Like... he was unmaking me. Pushing out my soul and replacing my will with... something malignant and malevolent."

"So... making you like those people that were enslaved by The Overlord."

"If that's what you want to call them, then yes. I think he meant for me to become one of the enslaved."

"Stay off the streets as much as possible." Paula turned her car on, but waited for Troy to leave her car. "In the meantime, I need to see if my lieutenant is okay." Paula drove away and headed for her hideout when Troy exited her car.

Troy Bradshaw meanwhile made his way to the innards of the police precinct. Though a fellow officer or two came up to him and asked why he was dropped off at the headquarters by The Saint's leader, he dismissed them and told them that he had a stressful day. He went into his office and sat in his chair, taking out a cigarette to smoke right there. What he didn't tell Paula that during his time with The Overlord, when he was casting that magic on him, he was feeling the sudden urge to serve him. Even to the point where he would take his own life in his honor. Troy shook that thought from his head, even though it felt like it would crept back in. His mind was scarred with the image of him and it couldn't be lifted from his mind. After he was done with his cigarette, he went for another one and lit it too.

XXX

Carlon paced back and forth in the throne room. He was slightly agitated by the fact that he didn't acquire his mark uninterrupted. The Saint's leader was truly troublesome. But at least he's having Gnarl interrogate this 'Shaundi' person. Once all of the information she knows is spilled, she will be a servant to the tower. Maybe he might order her to clean everything without rest? To be the whore to all the minions? Or perhaps be Gnarl's personal cleaner? That last one was, truly, the most evil idea that he could come up with for her. He'd know for sure that Gnarl would get a kick out of it. "Ho ho ho."

"Something funny, sire?" Gnarl asked, coming out of the shadows. He was obviously finished with the interrogations.

"Ah, uh... yes. Just thinking of ways we can use our new servant is all."

"If you can excuse me for saying so, sire, but entertaining those thoughts will have to come a little later. I have information regarding the whereabouts of the chief of police." Gnarl said. "He is currently resting in a police headquarters known as 'Precinct 31'. But not only that, we have also discovered that The Saints have a base of operations in Barrio District. We have two clear paths ahead of us, but I believe that taking one base out would alert the other."

"Are you suggesting I find a lieutenant to attack one base while I focus on the other?" Carlon asked, sitting down on his throne.

"Brilliant strategy, sire. But whom will fill the role for such a task? I'm not exactly spry, mind you!"

"Oh... I think I'll be wanting a netherworld gate made for me in Saint's Row. But as for our lieutenant... Jane! Could you be a dear and come hither?" Carlon said, calling to his mistress.

Jane walked down the stairs, with a sultry gait to her walk, and stood in front of Carlon, bowing before him. "You request of me?"

"Yes. How would you like to be given the opportunity to command an army of minions in the headquarters of The Saints?" Carlon said, getting back up from his seat.

"That... is certainly a strange favor to ask of me, my lord." Jane said, surprised.

"It's not a request, it's a given opportunity. Meaning I'm giving you control over some of my minions. And upon doing this, I'm commanding you to attack The Saint's headquarters. Gnarl?" Carlon turned to Gnarl.

"Yes sire?" Gnarl said.

"When can you build the minion gates into both locations, and the netherworld gate at Saint's Row?"

"Within half of the current hour, master."

"Grand. Now then, Jane. It's time you should become more familiar with the blues."

"What? I didn't know you liked folk music." Jane said, not quite getting what Carlon meant.

"Hahaha ahh... Let me show you." Carlon lead Jane to the minion burrows, where Gnarl was left with his orders. Gnarl then went ahead and instructed the minion miners of the work to be done.

XXX

Paula parked her car in the parking lot to The Saint's hotel, Purgatory. She exited her car, taking note of the dents in her vehicle. That Overlord's armor must be very tough to withstand the impact of a car. Then she remembered that firing a rocket propelled grenade didn't do anything to him either. She wondered why the car had an effect on him, but not the RPG round for a bit. Pierce's assumption on The Overlord having a finite amount of mana seemed feasible, but it occurred to her that The Overlord needed concentration as well to use his spells. More importantly, he didn't have any time to use his spells before getting hit by her car, which was a vital hint in her mind.

So even if he has magic powers, he is just as mortal as any other human being. Or so she hoped to think.

But just as Paula was about to enter The Saint's main headquarters, she received a phone call from Jane Valderamma.

Jane: Paula, I need to tell you something urgent!

Paula: Calm your tits and tell me.

Jane: The Overlord captured Shaundi and he found out where The Saint's main base is!

Paula: God fucking dammit. Do you know when he's attacking?

Jane: I think he's prepping to send his minions to you now! ... I have to go.

Paula rushed inside and shouted for everyone to get ready.

**A/N: I really do hope that there is an Overlord 3 in the future. :EDIT: And I don't mean the Fellowship of Evil spinoff.**


	14. Evil Flows from Another Eruption

**-Revised-**

Chapter 14: Evil Flows from Another Eruption

As Paula went into the Saint's hideout, she screamed at everyone as she descended the steps, yelling "GET YOUR WEAPONS OUT NOW, WE'RE GONNA BE UNDER ATTACK SOON!"

Despite the confusion at first, everyone in the hotel, called Purgatory, took arms and did their best to fortify the hotel's defenses. Once everyone was alert, they barricaded the elevator and 'scenic route' entrances and waited, guns trained at the entrances at all times. Paula decided to equip her most powerful shotgun, her pimp cane, and stood in front of all her subordinates. Everyone had set up additional barricades and cover using the debris from the hobo town underground, which just happens to connect to the hotel. Even though there were still a few homeless that remained after a certain mission Paula partook in to 'remove' them, a few hid during the time it took them to realize that there was shit going down. Their gazes was glued to The Saint's and their sudden activity. It's only natural that they became worried when they realized that they were preparing for an imminent attack.

Then there was a small tremor that made everyone uneasy. Then several tremors. It was at this moment that Paula felt like she had to call for backup. She flipped open her cellphone and called.

Paula: Gat. Hotel. Now.

Gat: Right away, boss.

Paula: Pierce. Hotel. Now.

Pierce: Alright, coming over now.

Paula: Carlos. Hotel. Now.

Carlos: Brrrrrrraaaaaaaaiiiiiiinnnnnnnssssssss.

Paula: ... Dammit Carlos, did you damage your voice again?

Carlos: Actually, I said that out of force of habit.

Paula: Forget it. Just get here now. And I mean now-now.

Carlos: Gotcha. On my way.

Paula hoped that with the extra reinforcements, she could stop the attack. Or at the very least, repel it. Everyone stood their ground. And they waited with such vigorous intent just to keep their base secured from those damnable minion fuckers.

But little did they know that minion gates were spawning up behind their backs. Several of such were pushed up out of the ground, pushing away asphalt, cement and wood of Old Stilwater. The first brown minion came up and looked around. Then from different minion gates came different colored minions afterwards.

"Masta not here. Me sad." A brown said, sniffling.

"Shut up, Mud." A red minion said. "We get orders from mistress now. And mistress say attack here."

The brown growled. But his master did ordered them to follow Mistress Jane's command. At least for this mission only. But even then, the only order that she had given them was to just 'attack'. Nothing more. "We go attack and smashy now?" Mud asked, looking around a corner to find The Saint's main base of operations. "Hmm... Snake, what you thinks?" Mud asked, gesturing to a green minion.

"Many hyoomans with backs turned, and they no suspect us at all. Me likey." a minion presumably named Snake said.

"Is mistress coming here?" A blue minion asked, scuttling from his minion gate.

"No, me think nots. She says 'attack Saint's hideout', So we attacks hideout." Mud said, finding a pipe to use as a makeshift weapon. "Hmm... If me was masta... what me do? Heals, what you think?"

The blue minion pondered on the question. "... Me thinks more minions?" Heals finally said after some hesitation.

"Yes yes, get more minions till we is much more than them!" Mud said. He then turned to a red minion. "Flames, you get more minions for fight with purple people?"

A red minion named Flames nodded evilly and went into his minion gate to spread the word. Soon, more minions emerged from the respective color coded gates. Each of them clamored and hissed and glubbed, getting hyped for the battle they will be partaking in. Mud, the brown minion, jumped up onto a ruined rusted barrel, which told all the other minions to keep quiet. Looking at the army of... Mud can't count very well, but he figured that it was enough to overwhelm The Saints. "Okay, here is plan. Since mistress not here, we must... Eh... Do things like how masta want us to do. Browns bash, reds burn, greens stab, and blues heal. Now follow me, and we can begins the attack!" Every minion nodded, despite not getting their order directly from their Overlord or their appointed mistress. With another hand signal, he jumped down and lead the minions silently to The Saint's hotel. Mud picked up his pace, and the other minions behind him matched his speed.

The minions attack caught everyone off guard. Many of The Saints had thought that the minion attack would start at the entrance of their base. It was only when the first three victims started yelling in pain that they took notice of the hell occurring behind themselves. Everyone turned around and started firing their weapons wildly at the incoming minions. There were so many of them coming. The minions with their way of tactical swarming proved to thwart The Saint's tactic of shooting first and asking questions later. Paula looked at the incoming forces and noticed that even though a fair few went down, they seemed to be helped right back up by some new kind of colored minion. This is a new level of horseshit that turned into bullshit at this point.

Paula regretted the decision to pack extra grenades with her. But she didn't regret keeping her minigun in her safe in Purgatory for just such an occasion. She went to her room, breaking down the barricades that blocked her way and brought out her ironically named weapon from that safe. When she came back, she revved it up, making the barrel gain blinding speed. The second function was activated, which prompted the weapon to continuously fire a stream of devastating lead. Many minions were felled by the constant barrage, but they seemed to keep coming. Even if she were to focus on the minions attacking her crew, she would risk hitting fellow Saints with friendly fire. There were so many minions. Hundreds of minions.

Paula then heard shooting behind her, bullets whistling past. Gat eventually came to view as he approached the encroaching chaos, pulling out sub-machine guns and firing at all the evil little faces that he can. The mini-gun made the clicking noise that Paula dreaded. She dropped the heavy weapon and pulled out her own sub-machine guns, dual SKR-9 Threats. It was at this point Paula saw that only the blue minions were picking up the other minions that have been downed by gunfire, making her aggravation a little worse than before.

But even then, the minions kept on coming. Paula had to think of something before the approaching minions were done with all her soldiers and came for her and Gat. Paula believes it's now time for some explosions. Grabbing a Molotov, she started throwing one after another at the constant approach of the minions. It didn't stop the red colored minions, but every other minion were wary to enter the flame. "Fucking shit!" Paula exclaimed as fire was now being tossed her and Gat's way, which must have meant that her crew defending Purgatory had dwindled completely. They had no choice but to quickly retreat to the hallway. Pierce and Carlos came from the elevator and heard the rattle and banging of gunfire during their descent. Pierce tossed a SMG to Carlos and they both quickly joined Gat and Paula. But even that did little to deter the minions. The brown, green, and blue minions came up behind the red minions when the fires that blocked their warpath was resolved. Another Molotov stopped their progress further, but it can't hold three quarters of the minions for too long.

Despite the slowness of the zombie mind, Carlos got it into his zombie mind that enough was enough. In desperation, he rushed towards the incoming red minions and tackled as many as he could. "I'll hold these monsters off! Block off the exits!"

"Carlos, that's crazy!" Gat said amidst the gunfire.

"I know, but living as a rotting undead person with tofu in his head is not exactly something I see myself doing for another year. Now go!" Carlos said, taking a nearby sledge hammer to a group of incoming minions and knocking them down the stairs.

Paula gritted her teeth, but used the short amount of time Carlos given them. She then pulled Pierce and Gat with her to the elevator. After a short ride up, Paula threw a satchel below the elevator panel before leaving the elevator. Gat and Pierce knew at this point that their leader was fuming. They were unprepared for the assault. Asking how they attacked them from underground didn't cross her mind.

XXX

Carlos swinged his sledgehammer left and right, knocking down minions of all four colors and preventing them from getting to him or following The Saint lieutenants and their leader. The blue and red colored minions seem to die in a single hit, though the green and brown colored minions took a few more swipes before they followed suit. But even then, the minions quickly adapted and adjusted. The Blue and red minions kept away from Carlos, reviving fallen minions and throwing fireballs at him respectively. The brown minions would fight him at face value, swarming him in all directions as he frantically attacked with his only melee weapon. And the green minions Just wanted to hop onto his back and use their wrist blades to end him quickly.

Carlos was able to deal with the brown minions and keep them at bay, but the onslaught with the red minion's fireballs and the green minion's leaping onto his back proved to be taxing. He was fighting a losing battle. After a few minutes of swinging his sledgehammer wildly, a fireball managed to land on his elbow joint on his already damaged body, ultimately burning off the limb. Carlos tried to shrug off the handicap, though he was now swinging his sledgehammer much more slowly with just one intact arm. A green minion was lucky enough to latch onto his lower back and sliced his wrist knives into necrotic flesh. Carlos lost his footing as he attacked once more and rolled down the stairs, eventually coming to rest on his side.

Minions gathered to look down on him, snarling and sneering as they approached their most bothersome fighter. Carlos gritted his teeth and groaned as he felt that his legs broke as he tumbled down the stairs. The other minions laughed as they saw their downed victim in disdain, proceeding to poke and step on him. Carlos slowly dug into his clothes and retrieved a pineapple shaped device, using his only working limb. After pulling the pin out with his mouth, he then slowly raised the grenade above himself. The minions looked at the green pineapple before looking to one another. They then broke out in laughter. And after laughing, they brought their weapons of choice at the ready to start finishing off the lieutenant.

Or would have, had not the grenade did their job for them. What the grenade also did was take out many of the nearby minions.

XXX

"So uh... How the hell did those imps get into our hotel?" Gat asked.

"Don't care, too mad to think, too mad to ask them." Paula said, kicking the side of a car. Possibly belonging to either Gat or Pierce. There was a small ding noise from the elevator. Paula instinctively pressed her detonator and the doors of the elevator buckled outward violently, small bloody pieces of minion body parts being thrown out from the explosion. She turned to Pierce. "Can you block the other entrance with your car?"

Pierce nodded. "Alright. But... Damn man. I won't sleep well tonight knowing Carlos just sacrificed his ass to save us." He reluctantly parked his car into the only other entrance into The Saint's hideout. When he parked and got out of his car, he heard loud banging on the doors he parked against. Pierce quickly retreated to Gat and Paula. "I uh... I think we need to leave soon."

"Come with me then. I doubt The Overlord has flying minions." Paula said, taking a different elevator that lead to the rooftop. Gat and Pierce looked at each other before coming with Paula. Paula always entered a helicopter that can give her a quick getaway if the ensuing chaos was too much for her to handle. Once Pierce and Gat settled and buckled themselves into the Horizon aerial vehicle, it lifted off. They circled their headquarters and saw the minions pouring out and searching for the remaining Saints. Paula made sure to ascend slightly higher in case those red minions happened to be professional fireball pitchers.

Gritting her teeth once more, she piloted her helicopter to the helipad at a crib she owned in the Saint's Row District. After a 'gentle' landing, Paula stormed away from the helipad and into the building complex.

"... So Pierce. Do you know how those imps got into our hotel?" Gat asked, trying to break the awkward silence. It was so much easier to break with Shaundi around. He would rather ask her than Pierce.

"If I had to hazard a guess... from deep underground. Uh... Yeah." It would appear to Gat that Pierce was also still dealing with Shaundi's disappearance. And Carlos's sacrifice.

"Makes sense." Gat said, reloading his SMG and holstering it.

Pierce shook his head and made himself sound serious. "Listen. Whatever the hell is happening, we need to find out how to take this monster and his demonic thugs down. I have an idea, but we need to get a hold of a bunch of some seismic imaging devices. If we can use those devices to triangulate and find any empty spaces underground, we could find out where these little dick biters are coming from."

"Well that's a good idea and all, except for a few things. 1: We don't know how to use them. 2: We don't know what they're supposed to look like. 3: We don't know what we would be looking for. Safely put, we're kind of at a disadvantage. Plus, an assault onto The Overlord's base right after we got our asses kicked is kinda suicidal."

Pierce scoffed. "Aren't you even remotely curious about where these minions and that Overlord guy came from?"

Gat shook his head. "I'm only curious about how to finding out how to get rid of these fucks. If I have to use satchel charges or C4 on those netherworld gates, I'm going to."

Pierce shook his head. "Can't they just make more gates from underground?"

Gat sighed angrily. "... Well it's better than sticking our thumbs up our assholes. And that's what it feels like we've been doing after that guy in the tin can armor came!"

"Come on, Gat. Doesn't boss at least know a scientist?" Pierce asked Gat.

"Well... I can think of one in mind, but she's a microbiologist." Gat answered.

Pierce cursed under his breath. "Shit, I'd say call her and say we need seismic imaging devices for triangulating The Overlord's lair."

"I think boss has her number though. Go ahead and ask her, I'm going to pour one out for Carlos. ... Again." Gat said, walking to the edge of the helipad and pouring out a beer he brought with him. Pierce wasn't sure when Gat got the bottle, but he didn't press into it. Gat emptied the entire contents and dropped the empty beer bottle behind himself. A very customary sign that was supposed to be a sign of respect for the deceased. Libation for a fallen comrade and partner in crime.

"Guys, we need to get to Stilwater Penitentiary." Paula came back, startling both Pierce and Gat simultaneously. She returned with a worried expression on her face. A first to see, for Pierce and Johnny Gat.

"What? We just gonna go there now? Like, right now? Why?!" Pierce said.

"Quit whining and hear this." Paula said, pulling out her cellphone and replaying her voice-mail on speakerphone.

Troy: I'm not sure how long I got, but... I need you to find Monica Hughes, and bring her to safety in Washington DC as soon as possible. If she can tell the president, then there might be time. Even if the US government sent a representative to see the horrors for himself, The Overlord might just use his power to wipe the representative's mind and force him to become his slave. Or worse... *crashing noise* She's in Stilwater Prison. Hurry.

Minion: We found him masta!

Overlord: Take him.

Troy: No no nooooooo!

There was a long bout of evil laughter sounding from the cellphone before it was silent again. Then the end of the voice-mail recording was over when the dial tone signaled the end of the message. Pierce and Gat looked at each other, then they realized what just happened. "They fucking attacked us and the precinct at the same time?" Gat asked.

"Wait, I know that voice! It's The Overlord's! He was at the precinct the whole time during the attack at the hotel!" Pierce exclaimed.

"Yeah, we know that, Pierce. You don't have to point out the obvious." Gat said to Pierce.

"We're going to Stilwater Prison." Paula said, going back to her helicopter.

Pierce shook his head and motioned to Paula. "Whoa whoa whoa there boss. Maybe we should, I dunno, think about our strategy first?"

"The more time we waste, the more of a chance that walking scrap heap takes control of my territory. I don't know how Monica Hughes is still involved in all of this or why Troy wanted us to get her, but if it means stopping 'him', then that's all that matters to me." Paula activated the helicopter, its blades whirring and picking up speed. "Get the fuck in." Pierce was about to enter the aircraft, before Paula stopped him. "Not you, Pierce."

"What?" Asked Pierce.

"You need to prep an airplane for when we leave. Get my Snipes 57. Go to the airport."

Gat became comfortable in the aircraft again as both him and Paula went into the sky and went westward. Pierce cursed under his breath. But he will do as he was ordered, taking the long drive to the airport. Paula could have dropped him off first. But if time really was a factor, then she may not have enough time available. Whatever The Overlord has planned, Pierce thinks it cannot end very well. Plus, there was the incident at the university. Pierce was investigating into the matter, but all he could find out was that the enslaved people had very dazed expressions with crackling light in their eyes. Plus, all of them spread themselves out and away from the university and advertised about The Overlord's rulership. They spouted conditions about serving him or dying by him. Pierce knew very well that people were smart enough to decline such an offer. Not that it would make a difference since they would either be brainwashed or just outright smoked. But Pierce felt as though that this whole war between The Saints and The Overlord is going to be short. And he wasn't sure if he would be able to live long enough if he would see the conclusion. He pushed the feeling past his gut, but the omen remained in his heart.

**A/N: I'm thinking that the overlord games would become better if you can customize your spells. I'm not gonna go overboard with the details again like I did with minion formations and armor/weapon upgrading. But hoo boy am I holding back some ideas. :3**


	15. Prison Rescue

**-Revised-**

Chapter 15: Prison Rescue

Troy was no more. Or at least the spirit of him was no more. His vessel was now just a puppet to the will of evil, to which is now malleable and easily controlled. Carlon listened carefully to Troy as he explained and talked much about the day and age Carlon found himself in. Even though the idea of commanding his minions from a horse-less carriage was a novel idea, he would atrophy his muscles very quickly. He knew better to decide against taking it too easy and become a lazy overlord. Much like if he knew not to wield a shield. Though a shield was a device that was supposed to protect its wearer from a guarded attack, it would telegraph to his enemies that to protect anything is to hide weakness. To an overlord, a shield is just that, a symbol of weakness for weakness. An overlord had to be relentless and unyielding, so carrying a shield would just slow him down. After listening to Troy a little bit more, he ran out of patience and asked if he knew anything about the whereabouts of the mayor of Stilwater.

"She has hidden herself in the island that is Stilwater's Penitentiary, master." Troy said in a droning tone.

"Interesting. Why hide herself there?" carlon asked.

"It's where Mayor Monica Hughes would safely hide when a terrorist attack struck us. It would be least expected of them to search for a mayor in a penitentiary, master." Troy said.

"Huh. To think that that would explain why the city hall was empty before the massacre started." Gnarl said aloud to himself. "Although, to be honest, it is likely for a coward to flee when they smell danger. But in a penitentiary of all places? Such a tactic would fool even my evil mind."

"Gnarl." Carlon said to Gnarl, the tone in his voice telling him to keep quiet. Carlon then turned back to Troy. "So is there anything I need to know about this Hughes?"

"She cheated her way to become mayor after the death of her husband, who was also a mayor five years ago before a boating accident. I know that she once used to employ the leader of The Saints to help devalue property by using a septic truck to spew sewage onto buildings. Most importantly however, is that she will be picked up by The Saint's leader soon. She will be transported to the airport to leave Stilwater by plane." Troy said.

"To go all this way to protect a silly mayor female. Pfah!" Gnarl spat. "Sire, I will instruct the diggers to build a gate to this 'airport'. Sadly, the means to getting onto the island penitentiary will be difficult, as using our resources to build gates to both locations would take us twice as long. And that the island is surrounded by water too!"

Carlon sighed deeply and brandished his axe. "We need a boat."

"Actually, I think you need a helicopter." Jane said, wagging her hips as she descended down the steps.

"Hmm... A clever idea. But I doubt the minions are smart enough to... er... 'pilot' those things with screaming hair."

"I know a love interest you can 'persuade' to bring the minions across." she flirted. "But I do have a question for Gnarl." Jane said, turning to him.

"Ooh by all means, ask me anything!" Gnarl said, bowing and overly smiling.

"You said that the tower heart connects to Carlon. Is it possible to connect itself to other things?"

Gnarl nodded. "If those 'things' were people, then those people would turn insane within a minute and then into an abomination. If the things were, say, a chair or a barrel and other things, those objects would slowly twist, warp, and eventually destroy themselves."

"Could you use the tower heart to 'connect' to a pebble of nether stone? Could this method make a gate from itself? You think it might save time digging if one is to travel to the surface and plant the pebble in another location?"

"What are you getting at?" Gnarl said, giving Jane Valderamma a furtive look.

Jane explained. "I hope you didn't mind, Gnarl, but I read through some of your books on gate magic. From what I read, You can siphon some of the energy from that giant blue crystal down there, and be able to use its energy to create a shortcut anywhere you stabilize its energy at."

"Yes... That's possible."

"Well... Can't you just use a small gate to transport a larger gate to the location?"

Gnarl thought to himself for a moment. "... Well... It could save a lot of time digging. Using the metal tower heart to push the magma flow into the small connection to form the new gate could hypothetically work. ... are you saying that you're willing to take a piece of nether rock down here just to create one at the airport?"

"Exactly as it sounds." Jane said, patting Gnarl's head. "Plus, taking a nether stone to the island penitentiary might enable you fast travel to the airport. You know, in case you fail in capturing Monica at the penitentiary."

"In case The Saint's leader is there to complicate things." Carlon corrected Jane.

Jane chuckled and turned to face Carlon. "Paula is a tough cookie, but she doesn't know your powerful influence."

"And still she fights me and survives. Even with all her toys, she's a pest. It's almost laughable." Carlon then paused for a moment. "... Gnarl. Did you say 'metal heart'?

"Er... Yes, sire?" Gnarl said, looking somewhat admonished.

Carlon turned to Gnarl, his eyes glowing red menacingly. "Why didn't you tell me that we had two tower hearts the whole time?"

"Firstly, sire, you didn't ask how many tower hearts we had. And secondly, I didn't think that this was a detail that would be important to you." Gnarl said, slowly stepping away.

Carlon Stepped forward, stomping the ground angrily. "I think I would laud a detail like THAT as important, Gnarl."

"Oh... Then maybe you would like to know about my research into energy cubes?" Gnarl said, knowing well that making a move now would omit punishment.

Carlon raised his finger and pointed at Gnarl, his expression looking to be in between anger and annoyance. "... You know what? No. I'm going to talk to you about this later."

"In any case." Jane interrupted, getting Carlon and Gnarl's attention back onto her. "You will be planning on using your magic to turn her to our cause?"

"No."

"N-no?"

"Stilwater doesn't need more than one ruler. Though her beauty is something that would make a powerful man make a conceited effort to have her at their bedside, I am more than powerful. I am an overlord. I rule over all that I choose. She has no place in my kingdom." Carlon said, getting off of his throne and stepping into the light made by the tower gate in the throne room. His eyes glowed back to a yellow, then to a silvery white. "Besides, her will is truly strong. Unlike the heroes of my world, she is sort of a 'main character' to this world, I think. And she's the kind who has a vast amount of willpower. Simply put, if she knows about my evil presence spell, she might have prepared for it. I'm not giving her a window to exploit me, so I will be ousting her life from her corpse."

"That's my overlord." Jane said, biting her lip and moaning slightly under her breath. Carlon didn't figure Jane to be the kind of girl who has a thing for strategy.

"Since you're being in such a good mood, you can fly me to the penitentiary with one of these pebbles of yours, then head straight to the airport with another pebble." Carlon said, turning to face Jane. "Find a subtle place in fertile ground to sow our seeds, so to speak."

"Ah... I'm not entirely sure if this can work." Gnarl said in his musing rambles. "But if the tower heart does connect to any naturally formed rock in the netherworld and form a gate, then this can, or COULD in my opinion, help us spread our rule much faster than ever before. World wide conquest might be possible!" Gnarl excitedly said. "... But even then, I'm not entirely sure if it can work. It could force the 'nether seeds', trademarked by yours truly, to explode instead. Or just spew lava everywhere. ... Actually, that might be positively diabolical! But just to be sure, I ask that you drop a few seeds a distance away before opening them. Even I don't know what can happen!"

"Then it's settled. Mistress Jane, you can pilot a helicopter to transport me to the island. A former reporter like you can pilot one, right?" Carlon said. Jane nodded to him in response. "Good. Prepare one for my arrival. And Gnarl? Let's see about charging those 'nether seeds'."

Jane left both Carlon and Gnarl, heading into the netherworld gate to ascend to the surface realm. Gnarl meanwhile became giddy with excitement as he turned to a nearby brown minion. "Bhavin, gather some small pieces of obsidian or bedrock stone. Pebble sized. Bring them here in a pile so that our master can charge them. Chop chop!"

The brown minion grunted his acceptance to the minion master's request and scoured the ground, looking for pebbles of volcanic rock. Bhavin swept the floor and continued to the minion burrows, since he knows that there are many pebbles that can be found there.

"I think I'll talk to Giblet about a new set of armor, and a shiny weapon." Carlon said, making his way to the floating platform that connects to the forge.

"Very good, sire! I think Giblet should have found a way to combine the smelters with the forge stones by now." Gnarl said, tapping his claws together in a malevolent way.

"Oh? When did he take on that project?"

"A while ago, after you almost went up in a puff of smoke during your mission at the Centennial Beach."

"Mm." Carlon replied. He headed off to the forge, leaving Gnarl.

Bhavin eventually came back with two handfuls of black gravel, grunting to Gnarl that his task was done. "Hmm... This should be enough. But just to be sure, another two handfuls should suffice." Bhavin grunted and ran to where he could get more black gravel. When Bhavin came back again, Carlon also arrived as well, wearing a new set of fearsome armor fitted with spikes and glowing runes that swirled. An axe with a white hot blade, adorned with glowing jewels that hummed and sparked with energy, burning the air around itself, was equipped to Carlon. Gnarl almost dropped his jaw. "My lord! What in the blackest pit of suffering I can imagine did you come back with?"

Carlon shifted his weight around, feeling the new armor on himself. "Giblet made me an armor that was a mixture of several metals and alloys. He called it 'infernal arcanium' armor. Not only it'll regenerate my health like that of my other armor, but it can regenerate my mana too, although to a lesser degree. If I want to cast fireballs or use my evil presence spell indefinitely, I just need to wait for the slow recharge. But my blade, ho ho, is a culmination of enchantments. It cuts, burns, poisons and electrifies, with an added bonus of alleviating small amounts of health and mana from the prey it hits unto me."

"A worthy weapon for an overlord, sire! I think it deserves a fitting name." Gnarl said, gazing up in evil delight.

"Dirty Thunderstorm." Carlon said.

"Dirty Thunderstorm? Sounds a little macabre." Gnarl said.

"Yes. Named after the weather phenomenon of lightening striking volcanic plumes. It combines the heat of lava, the causticity of volcano gasses, and the power of lightening into one big chopping axe." Carlon said, swinging it a few times to get used to the new weapon.

"Ah, that makes more sense when explained that way. Now the name sounds VERY macabre!" Gnarl turned to the small pile of gravel. "Now then sire, let's see if the tower heart can connect to these pebbles at all."

"Shouldn't be too hard." Carlon said. The floor opened, letting the tower heart emerge from below them. Carlon picked out a small pebble and held it aloft with an open palm towards the tower heart. He willed magic into the pebble, and the tower heart reacted by creating electrical arcs that connected and charged that pebble. He could feel the heat right through his armor as intense power was charging into the tiny netherworld stone. After a sufficient charge, Carlon looked at the stone and saw that instead of the pitch black color that obsidian was known for, it glowed colors of red, orange and yellow. Small sparks of blue seemed to sprout from it when he touched it.

Gnarl clapped his hands together and rubbed them maliciously. "The heart has connected to the pebble. Good thing it didn't explode right away! I wonder if the tower heart can handle a bulk of pebbles?"

Carlon shifted his magic to the pile of netherworld pebbles. The arc of blue energy surged from the tower heart, making each pebble light up with energy and glowing light. Carlon knelt down to inspect his handwork. "Hmm... I'm assuming that they all have been primed."

"I believe so too, sire. If you use your evil presence spell on the charged nether seeds, they will no doubt activate. How much of a charge is needed to activate them is... well... questionable. Actually, I'm sure I can activate them remotely using the tower heart, sire. Might use a little more energy than necessary, but it will give us time to make a wide birth and prepare." Gnarl said, picking up all the nether seeds and depositing them into a bag. "Of course, smashing the seeds could potentially 'sprout' them into an explosion of liquid earth! Take care that you don't hit these on something hard. Or do. Just be far away if you plan on doing the latter." He held the bag to Carlon, which Carlon did take. There then was a small song playing from somewhere close.

"If ya got a big ol' booty and you know that you're a cutie, then

BOOM! (Back it up-a like a dump truck!)

BOOM! (Lemme see your junk in your trunk!)

If ya got a few extra pounds stored up in them big round mounds, then

BOOM! (Shake your rump to the sweet sound!)

BOOM! (Shake it down to the ground now!)"

"Hmm?" Carlon looked around.

"Pardon me, sire. I believe that's Jane calling me." Gnarl said, reaching into his scraggy robes and fetching out a device.

"... The hell is that?" Carlon asked.

"It's called a 'cell phone', sire. Say that again, Jane? ... Oh, yes, he's right here, but how do you turn on the speakerphone again? ... Oh, right, press the 1 key." Gnarl said, fiddling with his device.

Jane's voice was heard. "I have the helicopter ready, my lord. Meet me at the Mount Claflin nether gate when you're ready."

"Uhh... Okay." Carlon said, forgetting about the ringtone Gnarl had. Speaking of which, he then remembered the ringtone in the same train of thought. "By the way, Gnarl. What was that song that came up?"

"Oh." Gnarl said, his wrinkled skin blushing. "It's just a ringtone I found through the internet."

"You figured out how to set ringtones on your new cell? What song is it called?" Jane said.

"Uh, It's just something I thought was appropriate for a personal ringtone." Gnarl said.

"Oh really?" Jane said, sounding stern. "Carlon, what are some of the lyrics you heard?"

"Hmm..." Carlon thought for a second. "... Something about a butt and being called cute?"

"... GNARL, I WILL BREAK YOUR NEW CELLPHONE IF YOU DON'T CHANGE THE RINGTONE WHEN I GET BACK!" Jane roared.

Her shout made both Carlon and Gnarl jump, making the cell drop out of the minion master's hand and landing in a small stream of lava, breaking it anyway. Gnarl and Carlon looked at each other in the abrupt moment. "Well... there goes my new toy." said Gnarl.

Carlon shook his head and turned. He will deal with Gnarl's perverseness later. And his neglect to tell him that there was two tower hearts the entire time. He risen-ed and entered the netherworld portal, bound for Mount Claflin.

**A/N: I uh... Hope you didn't mind that I basically edited that the netherworld tower had two tower hearts the entire time. Ahah... Ha... :D**


	16. Prison Storm

**-Revised-**

Chapter 16: Prison Storm

Paula viewed the ground below, seeing the Stilwater Penitentiary once more. Her visits here were very rare, since any trouble she caused there would easily be hounded by the police and prison guards. Aside from the fight club, occasional boat races and having a lighthouse crib, there wasn't much to do. But Monica Hughes was now her priority. Paula would rather take the fight to the fucker that caused so much chaos for everyone. She didn't like fighting a losing battle after all. She didn't even like playing fetch/bodyguard. She didn't like that at all. But The Saint's headquarters was ravaged by ugly-as-sin evil groin jockeys, and this fight now requires some leverage, and the only person who has that leverage is Monica. Paula gritted her teeth.

Gat couldn't help but notice her raw anger seeping from her, no doubt caused by The Overlord. "So uh..." He said into his aviation headset, an awkwardness within the noise of the helicopter. "Mind if I take the mayor to the airport if he shows up?"

"So I can fuck him up personally? Yes." Paula said, too pissed to say anything else on the matter.

Gat understood and kept quiet through the rest of the ride to the island penitentiary. The helicopter slowed and descended, landing safely yet noisily on the helipad as most helicopters often do. Paula got out and stormed to the prison entrance. Gat followed behind Paula. Many of the prison guards there were very apprehensive to their presence. Everyone was paranoid and tense after learning that half of Stilwater was massacred by imp like creatures. There was even some guards that was unable to sleep at all because of The Overlord's attacks. Everyone was on edge.

The receptionist eyed Paula and Gat wearily as they came up to him, coming through the front doors and standing before him. "Visiting hours are until tomorrow at 2-4 pm."

Paula was undeterred. "Where's Mayor Hughes?"

The receptionist laughed. "Hahaha what? I think you got the wrong place, mam. Check city hall."

"Haven't learned the news about the entire northern part of Stilwater being overrun with the minion fuckers?" Gat said.

"I did. More to the point however, Mayor Hughes would have been transported a safe distance away from all the chaos that is happening. But that's as far as I know."

Paula leaned onto the receptionist's desk. "Funny. Can you tell me how you know that?"

The receptionist glared back at Paula. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call for my palls to drag your asses away."

"Chief Troy Bradshaw sent us." Paula answered.

"... Really? So wait, is him having a past with you guys true?"

"That's besides the point." Paula said. "There'll be a guy in tin armor coming over here soon and he's going to tear down your concrete walls like they were lego blocks. Now, you have two options here. One: you have either me or him to worry about. Two: You have only him to worry about as we get Hughes out of here. I can wait here and talk your ear off till he gets here, if I wanted to. Get what I'm saying?"

The receptionist was speechless. He sat there motionless as though if he were to say one more word, his own testicles might be given to a lecherous bum and convince him that it was chewing gum. A hand pressed itself onto his shoulder at that moment, prompting him to look up and see none other than Monica Hughes, the mayor of Stilwater. The receptionists eyes could not have opened any wider.

"I got a call from Troy that you guys might be here." Monica said, patting the receptionist on his back. "Sorry about Patrick here. I heard he can be a bit jumpy."

Paula nodded. "I kinda figured. Say, if you're ready, we can leave at a moment's notice. Don't bother bringing your tooth brush."

Monica nodded and maneuvered to a door, pushing it open and meeting with Paula and Johnny Gat on the other side of the receptionist's desk. "They don't allow toothbrushes here, or anything can be made into a shiv."

"Toothbrush shivs are pretty good and everything, but I prefer guns over knives." Gat said, leading the way back to Paula's helicopter.

"I heard that you faced against The Overlord." Monica said. "Is he really as terrifying as the news reports say?"

Paula spat bitterly. "Not terrifying. More like a fucking pain in my ass. After this, I'm going straight to him to fuck his shit up. Hell, I got a little surprise just in case I'm facing him again."

"Always the 'get in, get shit done' kind of person. It would be hard for me to imagine that you would become a hero of Stilwater just by standing up against this terrorist."

"Terrorist or not, all I care about is killing him. He's not getting my city." Paula said angrily back to Monica.

"YOUR city? Last time I checked, I'm the mayor here."

A helicopter flew above the penitentiary and hovered high up. Carlon opened the doors and flinged a sparkling glowing pebble out. When it plummeted the ground, a fissure of magma exploded from the point of impact. The noise it made sounded like a steam pipe rupturing. Except instead of steam, there was magical lava that flowed and spritzed everywhere.

Paula and Monica heard the noise and took cover, avoiding the sudden splashing of lava that threatened to burn them. Gat wasn't so lucky as a few drops got onto him, making him yell in pain. He threw away his jacket and tried brushing the lava off of him, but he only smeared it around and made it worse. He curled himself into a fetal position and groaned painfully. He motioned to Paula and Monica. "... Just ... Get out of... h-here."

Monica and Paula got up and ran for the helicopter. Paula was feeling very livid at The Overlord for causing so much trouble for her and her Saints. But right now she needed to get Monica to safety. Jumping over stream after stream of flowing lava, she turned and saw a helicopter landing at the center of the lava flow, where it seemed to cooled down and turned black the fastest. Another 'Mouth of Hades', or netherworld gate, formed and cooled. Blue light emanated from the steaming structure. The helicopter descended further only to hover just above the ground, where The Overlord jumped out and landed. The helicopter he jumped from then ascended, and flew Eastward.

Paula got Monica to safety as they ran off to Paula's helicopter. She got in it with Monica, turned it on and flew straight for the airport. What they didn't know was that the other helicopter was going there too.

XXX

Carlon looked around the penitentiary entrance and saw that creating a netherworld gate this way would cause a lot of damage to the area. Many trees were burned in an instant and many of the nearby cars were melted to the ground. Carlon smiled very broadly. "Hmm. Whether or not these nether seeds forms a netherworld gate or is used as a bomb, the destruction they do is quite appealing."

"_As fun as it is to gloat on the current success of this field tested experiment, finding the mayor is more important at the moment._" Gnarl's voice said from within Carlon's new helmet. "_I wonder where that little old mayor is hiding?_"

Before Carlon could do anything, he looked down and saw something familiar. It was hunched at a wall, grunting as though he barely survived the netherworld portal creation. Carlon leaned and knelt forward, looking at the familiar figure. "Have I seen you somewhere before?" He asked the hunched figure.

The figure looked up, paused, and got his SMG out, pointing them at him. "... Yeah. And if I'm not mistaken, you're the same asshole that wants control of stilwater. Got a new getup, I see."

"The 'getup' you are referencing is my new armor. Like it?" Carlon said.

"Not really. A little flashy for my tastes." Gat said sarcastically.

"Enough banter. Tell me where your leader is. I know from the slut in your gang that the girl named 'Paula' is your leader."

"You're already too late, aluminum fucker. She ain't here. Ahh... but if you want a fight, then I can give you a good one, since I know that you captured Shaundi."

"Fighting you is not my concern. For now." Carlon said, turning around and walking away, going forth to the newly created netherworld gate.

"Rule number one about your enemies: Never turn your back on them." Gat said, aiming his SMG and firing at Carlon. The bullets ricocheted and... became slightly molten when they contacted his armor? Gat emptied his entire clip at close range but did nothing to him.

Carlon turned slowly around and glared to face Johnny Gat, looming over him and displaying raw intense fury. Gat's guns couldn't possibly do anything to The Overlord, yet they must still hurt like a bitch to him. Carlon slowly reached to Gat's gun and held it with just his index, middle, and thumb fingers. The Overlord pushed his thumb between his middle and index fingers, destroying the gun and snapping it in half as though it were a brittle toy. "My turn. Rule number two about your enemies: Never underestimate them. GRAH!" Using the hilt of his axe, he struck a blow to Johnny and pushed him a fair distance away, knocking him back and down.

Gat wheezed painfully, getting up even after being sprinkled with lava droplets and being struck with an axe hilt, he brought out and readied a sword he kept from his days of fighting The Ronin. But when he got back up, he sees no towering Overlord above him. Gat looked around and saw that The Overlord went to the new netherworld gate already. "Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

"To the airport." The Overlord replied back, slowly walking into the blue haze frothing forth from the ominous gate.

Gat got up and pursued The Overlord, pointed his samurai sword at him and running at full speed. "I'm not going to let you, coward!"

"I'll best you later." Carlon jumped and descended into the mouth of the gate with Gat jumping after him.

XXX

Gnarl had a puzzled and awed expression. Gat had somehow managed to piggyback with Carlon and tricked the netherworld gate to transport the both of them. Normally, it was only by the will of The Overlord that people can enter the netherworld. And the netherworld can also prevent trespassers and those that can be a threat from entering uninvited. Gat took a chance and was lucky, riding with The Overlord as they swiftly traveled from the surface to the source of The Overlord's evil.

As the chandelier/gate opened up, Carlon was already wrestling with Johnny Gat as they floated down and landed on one another. They both quickly got up and faced each other, weapons drawn. Carlon shook his head and chuckled after he had a moment to get some space from Gat. "Never had I met someone as determined as you."

"Runs in The Saints. More-so with my boss." Gat said in a defensive stance.

"Gnarl, do you know when Jane will set up the gate?" Carlon asked Gnarl.

"Should be in a few minutes from now, sire. But it looks like you got a stowaway to deal with!" Gnarl said, stepping back and peering from behind Carlon's throne.

"Just tell me when the gate in the airport is formed." Carlon said.

Gat took quick glances when looking around, trying not to lose too much focus from his current tussle with The Overlord. "So this is your home, huh?"

"Yes." Carlon flatly said.

"Whew, that news reporter guy wasn't kidding, It's hot as hell down here. How do you keep yourself hydrated?" Gat asked.

"You'd be surprised to know that a river runs through this domain."

"A river? Might take a dunk in it after I mop the floor with you." Gat threatened.

"A bold statement. Since we're both down here, I have no qualm to fight. You can have the first strike with your letter opener, should you be bolder." Carlon said, lowering his axe.

Gat raised his sword to strike but didn't swing. "... What'll happen if I do slice you?"

"Heheh, you're a smart one, so I'll let you figure that out." Carlon said, turning away to face the gate.

Gat didn't like the way that sounded, so he stayed his sword. Gat slowly lowered his blade and spat at the ground, his spittle drying quickly. He cautiously came closer and stood next to Carlon, seizing him up and coming up with questions to ask. "So uh... I take it that you have some plan in mind?"

"Sort of. Many overlords, like myself, tends to either, A: Establish control, B: Raid for resources, and C: Remove the competition." Carlon replied.

"And we're the competition." Gat said, which prompted Carlon to nod. Gat sighed. "So why are you trying to capture the mayor?"

"To establish my control."

"Right. Letter A." Gat said. "I thought it would be B or C."

"Eh... Sire, are you not going to deal with this foolish whelp?" Gnarl said, confused.

Gat turned around and saw Gnarl. Carlon raised his hand to shush the old minion. "He's a guest, so don't kill him."

Gat looked back at Carlon with a confused expression. "What?"

"Master, you can't be serious! I urge you to make an example of this second class peon! Toss him into the chasm, burn his face off, or something!" Gnarl shouted.

"If I hear you calling me a peon again, you'll be in a world of trouble." Gat warned Gnarl. Gnarl snarled and hid behind the throne again.

"I don't care if he does something out of line, but you have my permission to detain him." Carlon said.

"He's already doing something wrong, sire, and it's being here!" Gnarl said.

"Once I get the mayor, I will deal with him personally." Carlon said, watching the blue misting from the gate. "If he causes trouble, put him somewhere where he won't. Have him bunk inside a cage next to the greens hive, or something. "

"... Yes sire. I think I'll do just that."

"Good. Is the gate ready?" Carlon asked.

"Let me see..." Gnarl said, making sure to have a wide distance between himself and Gat. He stood in front of the throne and a map unfurled, hanged like a curtain in front of the black throne. "Um... ah, I see. Seems as though the gate-to-be is delayed."

"Delayed? How do you know this?"

"From what we discovered on our first field test, the nether seeds explode upon impact, and the energy from here forms the netherworld gates on the surface. She should have dropped the seed and be over and done with it by now!" Gnarl complained.

"Hmm... When can we get a minion digger over to the airport?"

"Already planned beforehand, sire. I sent a minion digger when you left to the penitentiary."

"Smart thinking, Gnarl. When will the other gate be ready?"

"Let me check the map again, sire." Gnarl said, still at the throne. The map was of Stilwater. Indeed, there was a gate that was ready for Carlon to use. Gnarl leaned in and inspected the map for himself. "Ooh, we're in luck. Proceed to the Stilwater airport, sire. I'll be sure to attend our guest till you come back for him."

"Mm." Carlon turned and walked forward, entering the blue light. The gate/chandelier lifted and transported him up.

All Gat could do at this point was watch him go in awe. "Okay, aside from the heat and the medieval decor, THAT is pretty fucking awesome." he said, pointing at the claw in the ceiling. But despite his awe, Gat sighed heavily and palmed his face after a brief moment to think. "... Shit. I was suppose to stop him from going to the airport!"

Gnarl whistled, summoning his own minions that came into the room, surrounding Gat. Gnarl smiled evily. "Now then, 'Gat', allow us to make your time here... enjoyable. Heheheh. Hand over all of your weapons."

Gat changed his posture as he raised his samurai sword and glared at all the minions. "Nah. I think I'll fuck shit up while I'm here."

"Minions, you are not to kill this one! Put him into a tiny cage!"

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get #16 done.**


	17. Airport meet up

**-Revised-**

Chapter 17: Airport Meetup

Pierce waited next to the private plane, waiting for his boss and her company. With the recent events of losing the entire northern part of Stilwater, losing Shaundi and Carlos, and having their main base of operations become overrun with minions, it would be understandable that Pierce was greatly stressed. He fished out a cellphone from his person and eyed it. After eyeing his cell for whoever knows how many times, he decided to call Paula and get an update.

Pierce: Hey boss. Are you in the air?

Paula: I'm flying to the airport. Listen, something bad happened and now we're in a bad way.

Pierce: ... Wha? What happened over there?

Paula: The Overlord happened. He dropped some shiny thing from a helicopter and it exploded with lava. Gat stayed behind.

Pierce: What?

Paula: It's hard to explain. Just be careful if anything comes your way.

Pierce: I'll see what I can do.

Pierce hanged up his call and called for backup.

Pierce: Spread the word. All Saints are to come to the airport and assist the leader, Paula. Bring lots of firepower.

Hopefully they will get here in time. As minutes passed, Pierce could finally hear the rumble of a machine coming his way. Sadly, it wasn't the aerial machine that belonged to his boss. It was an aerial machine that belonged to a news crew. Pierce remembered something about Paula talking about The Overlord dropping something and lava spewing out from nowhere. With a forethought, he sensed that the news helicopter coming his way might be connected. "Right." Pierce said aloud, going to his car and bringing out a AR200 SAW rifle. Even though he thought that the weapon would be perfect for killing droves of minions quickly, it was also useful as a light anti-vehicle weapon.

He aimed carefully, taking consideration to fire in bursts and slightly lead the target. His gun rattled to life as he pulled the trigger. Pierce took quick glances between shots to see if he hit his mark. The tail rotor had been hit, making it swirl with smoke and made quick circles as it descended. It landed in a roll, the blades cutting deep into the earth and wearing them down quickly or simply breaking away as dangerous metal debris. The craft eventually came to rest on its side, smoke billowing from the aircraft.

Pierce cautiously approached the downed aircraft and looked into the pilot's seat. To his surprise, it was Jane Valderamma. To Pierce, she seemed to be dressed in a very unusual garb of violet and golden silk, with a fancy metal brassiere. She seemed to be wounded with stray bullets that struck her shoulder and arms. She seemed to be unconscious.

Pierce immediately got his phone out, even though the backup he called for was just arriving.

Pierce: Boss, you're not going to believe who I shot out of the sky!

Paula: I'm flying over there now, so don't spoil it for me.

Pierce: Aight then.

Pierce closed his cell and inspected Jane. She wasn't hurt too bad, but she was in need of medical attention. But questions started gnawing at Pierce's mind furiously. Why did the Overlord wanted her? And why is she here? And why was she piloting THIS helicopter? Despite his mind buzzing with questions, Pierce then saw something shiny that was on her person. A glowing pebble sized rock of red, orange and yellow with blue sparks. Pierce remembered something about Paula talking about The Overlord dropping something shiny and that it exploded. Pierce took a chance and reached into the helicopter cockpit and nabbed the pebble. After retrieving it, he pocketed it and pulled Jane out from the wreckage.

Pierce set Jane carefully onto her back behind the hangar doors and made sure she was comfortable. He is certain that Paula would want to talk to Jane.

And sure enough, Paula came in with her own helicopter and landed next to the hangar the private jet was in. After Paula had landed, she rushed out with Monica just behind her, barely keeping up. "So I see our Saints shot that down." she said, looking at the downed helicopter a distance away.

"Actually, I shot the helicopter down by myself." Pierce corrected.

"Why are there lots of Saints here?" Monica asked, perhaps feeling worried about herself.

"I thought I had more time, so... I called for help. But anyway, I pulled someone from the crash." Pierce said, going to that very someone to show to his leader.

"Is it a minion?" Paula asked, following him.

"It ain't a minion, boss. I don't think they're bright enough to operate anything that you need a license for. It's actually Jane Valderamma." Pierce corrected again.

"Come again?"

"Yeah, it's the same news anchor from Channel 6! She was piloting the helicopter. Oh, and I manage to take this from her while she was knocked out." Pierce said, pulling out the shiny pebble that he took, and showed it to Paula.

Paula took the shiny pebble and inspected it. The little blue sparks tickled her skin as she touched it, feeling as though black sugar ants was biting and dancing on her palm and fingers. It felt wrong. Like a presence watched her and gave thoughts of endless death into her. "Yeah, I think you should keep this." She said, handing it back to Pierce.

Pierce pocketed the pebble again and turned to face Monica, the mayor. "... Where's Gat?"

"Call him. He should be still at the penitentiary." Paula replied, walking Monica to the private plane.

Pierce took out his cell phone again and called him.

Pierce: So I heard that you stayed behind. Something going on there?

Gat: Now is not the best time, Pierce!

Pierce: Whoa hey, no need to shout. Are you at the penitentiary?

Gat: No! HRAHH! I'm underground. HAH! HYAH-HA-HAH! I'm fighting minions.

Pierce: You're fighting minions?

Paula overheard and gestured to Monica to continue to the private airplane. She went back to Pierce and leaned in, curious. Pierce instinctively pressed the speakerphone button.

Gat: Yeah! Ugh, hang on. TAKE THIS, YOU FUCKS! RAAAAAAAH! These assholes sure can take a beating. Especially the shit colored ones. HEY, NO! STOP PICKING HIM BACK UP! UAGH! HEY, DON'T YOU DO IT TOO! The Overlord is on his way to you. Get reAAAAH GET OFF ME YOU FUCKING PICKLE-SKINNED ASSHOLE! Get ready for him, he's coming to you now. WHOA! HEY! YOU RED PIECE OF SHIT, I'LL MAKE YOU-

Pierce: ... Gat? Gat? Gat, can you hear me? Shit!

"Paula, I got bad news and worse news." Pierce said.

"Way ahead of you." Paula said, bringing out her most powerful rocket launcher, the Annihilator RPG. Pierce stood back as he saw the advanced RPG launcher. Paula took out her phone and called the Stored Vehicle Delivery Service. "Hi. Can you get the EDF Scout to Wardill Airport? I'm at the hangar that I own. Thanks." Paula hanged up and patiently waited. Whether The Overlord or Paula's armored rocket launching vehicle got here first, she felt confident of her chances this time around. Especially since more and more Saints kept coming, bringing serious damage dealing weapons with them.

However, The Overlord arrived first.

A netherworld gate forced its way out from the ground and pushed away dirt and asphalt. From the blue aura, an overlord risen from its mouth and looked menacing as he stiffly walked to meet everyone meeting at the airport.

Paula was undeterred. "If it ain't the asshole in the tin can armor."

"What did you do with my mistress?" Carlon said flatly.

"Mistress? You mean... You mean to tell me you had the news anchor between your fingers this whole time?" Paula asked, surprised.

"Mm."

"Oh. Well, you'd be happy to know that your current bitch is resting behind the hanger doors. She's not dead. Just sleeping off the bump on her head."

"Remind me to grant you a painful death, after I acquiesce your mayor."

"... So how did you manage to get Gat into hell?"

"He tried to stop me from getting the mayor. The black haired sarcastic whelp has no way to escape from my domain though. I could interest you in joining him, provided that you hand over the mayor." Carlon said, bringing out his left palm in a 'give me that' gesture.

"Pierce! Fly the mayor off Stilwater! I'm gonna put you in the scrapyard after this." Paula said, directing her last comment to The Overlord.

"20 browns, 10 reds, 10 greens and 10 blues, in my horde now!" Minions hurried out from the smaller minion gates beside the netherworld gate and came to attention behind their master. After petting the head of one of his minions, he looked to Paula. "You will all start dying now."

Carlon readied his weapon of choice, his axe, while Paula readied hers in turn, the advanced rocket launcher. A stillness clung in the air that made everyone silent. Saints and minions looked at and seized their enemies.

The gang members belonging to The Saints that had arrived were at unease, but they were poised to start shooting when the fighting starts. They had the technological advantage, since they felt that having a gun makes them more bad-ass. But all their guns ever did was bring up their confidence. The Saint's main weakness was their arrogance.

The Overlord and his powers had many unknown variables. His new armor was something that no one ever prepared for. His magic was unrelenting and devastating, capable to turn people into ash or forcing a persons mind onto one another. His minions are the main threat. Each one, albeit half the height of a man, had the brutality and tenacity to take one down on their own. And there were 50 of them at the moment.

**A/N: Cue the theme music from the movie 'The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly'.**


	18. War Between Crime and Evil

**-Revised-**

Chapter 18: War Between Crime and Evil

Carlon focused his gaze at Paula. Sure, she had the firepower in her favor, and their modern technology was certainly an advantage over his minions. Swarming everyone all at once with his minions would certainly be a good tactic, but it would leave him exposed to the long distance combat specialists, people that he heard were called 'snipers'. He could try to challenge his nemesis, but he is certain that she knows that a one-on-one duel to the death would be in his favor, and she would most likely decline. Carlon could use his incredibly powerful Betrayal spell at the start of the fight, but it burns through mana faster than his Confusion spell. At least he could wait for a little bit to fire some fireball and flamethrower spells if he had time to recharge his magic reserves during combat. But then he would have to be laboriously patient to activate his Sanctuary spell for a split second, in case they want to throw another explosion his way.

Paula looked at Carlon up and down, inspecting possible weaknesses she could exploit. She could order everyone to throw grenades at them and be done with the minions, but it might piss off The Overlord even more, which would prompt him to summon more of his minions. A possible window of opportunity to get in a cheap shot, though she is unsure how many minions he has. From what she figured, this Overlord guy needed to be concentrated on a threat for him to be prompted to activate his invincible glowing gold aura, or whatever it was. Aside from that, she DID take note that The Overlord CAN be wounded when that golden glow was not active. Plus, the time that that glow was activated seemed stinted. Meaning what Pierce said might be true: He HAD to have a limited supply of magic at his disposal. But whether or not he could generate mana or resupply on it, it was clear that he had to run out of it at some point, even though there is the problem dealing with his other spells in general. A close quarters fight was out of the question since he now carried a big fucking axe that looked like it can cleave a whole car in two, from the looks of it. Plus, The Overlord is sporting some new armor. Another variable to consider.

An engine from a private plane started to life, shattering the silence and prompting the war between The Saints and The Overlord to begin.

The Saints started shooting, riddling many minions and The Overlord with lead. Even though the sting of thousands of lead hornets was apparent, it didn't deter Carlon. He summoned his Legion of Terror spell, surrounding his minions with a red glow that riled them up with evil, demonic energy. The minions hurried to the closest things that they could smash: The Saints. The Saints, confused at the sudden glow of the short monsters approaching them at first, eventually started dispersing in a panic at the frightening site, and were overwhelmed by the minion onslaught. The Overlord had but one target to subdue at the moment, walking into the fray and past Saints tussling with minions.

Paula saw The Overlord approaching, and she could only reflexively bring out another weapon she planned to use when things got dicey, her chainsaw. She revved it up and awaited for him to approach her. He walked closer, and closer, and closer still till...

... he walked past her.

"I need a blue to me, now!" Carlon commanded. He saw the private jet slowly leave the hanger and getting prepared to increase speed. Carlon would not allow that aerial vehicle to take off. An eager blue minion jumped into his grasp. Once a minion was in his hand, he threw the blue at the private jet. The jet's left wing was hit, making it buckle at an angle and forcing the whole aircraft to skid, breaking the landing gear in the process. Carlon proceeded to the wrecked aircraft.

Paula felt dumbfounded at the moment. Then she realized what Carlon was trying to accomplish. Prevent the mayor from leaving Stilwater. "... Oh enough of this. RAAAAAAAAGH!" Paula roared her battle-cry and charged forward, chainsaw revving fast and making the chain spin to its full throttle. Carlon whirled around and brought up his axe when he heard Paula's blood curdling shout. She collided into him with her rather curious weapon of choice. Her weapon clashed with his in a constant and visceral way, creating a shower of sparks that launched upward and fell everywhere. "Choke on this you fucker! Stilwater belongs to me, and I won't let you take it!"

"You must be confused, gruh. You don't take back what's yours when it doesn't belong to you in the first place. I think it's time to suppress that will of yours." Carlon forced his hand into her face and unleashed a Submission spell to her skull. She froze in place, feeling her mind becoming a pincushion as her body acted on its own. She walked back a bit, then slowly knelt down. Her brain was screaming at her body to keep attacking The Overlord, but her body resisted, keeping its knelt position. Carlon leaned to the kneeling Saint. "The Submission spell works like a charm. You'll remain here for a bit."

Carlon turned tail and headed to the ruined jet, leaving Paula there. Carlon had lots of mana to spare anyway. Back at the ruined private plane, Pierce stumbled out and brushed himself off. He cursed his luck to himself, though he changed attitude almost immediately upon seeing Carlon coming his way, fleeing almost immediately. Carlon decided to throw a fireball his way. He raised his left hand into the air and... nothing happened. Carlon cursed under his breath, figuring out what the problem was when he didn't manifest a sphere of flame. He was sure that he had more mana than he thought.

"_Sire, your mana supply is dangerously low!_" Gnarl said to Carlon.

"I'm aware of that, Gnarl!" Carlon barked back, though trying not to speak aloud for everyone to hear. He went to the ruined aircraft and peered inside. An unconscious mayor laid on the flooring of the jet. What luck.

"_Are you also aware that the 'guest' you dumped on us in the netherworld is running amok? We need your presence here as soon as possible to detain this wayward ingrate!_"

"In a minute, Gnarl!" Carlon picked up the mayor, slightly waking her from her knocked out status. He pulled her out and flinged her to the ground, making her roll a couple times before coming to a dizzying rest. After securing the mayor, Carlon looked at the battle ensuing. His minions were no longer under the effect of the Legion of Terror spell, and were attacking The Saints normally. Or to be more accurate, what barely remained of The Saints. He raised up his left hand and pointed to the mayor. "Two minions, to me now! Take her to the gate!"

Two out of three brown minions broke away from pummeling a Saint and came running to their master. After hearing the second command, they picked up the dazed mayor and carried her off, passing by many people and minions in battle with one another still. Paula stood up finally, holding her own head in a pained expression as she felt a migraine pounding within her skull. Before she knew what just happened, she saw two minions carrying Monica Hughes to the netherworld gate. Paula quickly brought out dual pistols and carefully aimed at the two minions heads. Due to her slight migraine, she had some difficulty aiming at the rather small heads of the minions. Before she could shoot, The Overlord interrupted and sliced both of her pistols, rendering them useless. Despite being in armor, he was rather silent and somewhat quick. But then again, there was gunfire in the area, so it would not have been feasible to hear a man in armor sneaking up behind herself.

Paula took a few steps back and brought out her chainsaw again. Carlon chuckled. "You must have a death wish to be this persistent. But don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you."

Paula revved her chainsaw. "This is for Carlos."

Her chainsaw clashed onto Carlon's axe again, its chain digging into his weapon and threatening the air around them to turn into smoke and fire. Carlon pushed Paula away and swung his axe at her. Paula backed away, using the momentum of his push to gain extra distance from his swings. She also took note of the heat The Overlord's axe emanated. After a heavy downward strike, Paula sidestepped and thrusts her chainsaw upward at his body, which grinds and cuts into his tough metal armor. A backhand forced Paula away, which gave Carlon brief time to inspect the damage she done to him. The weapon Paula wielded was noisy, but impressive, doing enough damage to wear down a spot on his armor almost instantly.

Paula rushed in again and struck Carlon another blow, this time to his helmet. She lifted her chainsaw and it caught on and damaged his helm further, forcing his helmet to be pulled off and getting stuck in the chainsaw. The Overlord was now showing his face for everyone to see.

Paula didn't care what he looked like. She pushed Carlon down and discarded her locked chainsaw, pulling out an SMG and aiming it at his head. She pushed him down with a boot. "Any last words?"

"... Shock Shield spell." After Carlon's 'last words', Paula felt a shooting pain travel up her leg and into every part of her body. Carlon got back up and flexed her off of himself, making her tumble back as she convulsed, almost as though she had been stunned by a taser. He felt as though he was facing a worthy opponent. He brought his left hand forward, making sure to turn off his Shock Shield and ready a Fireball spell. But before Carlon could deal a smouldering blow to Paula's face, a giant jeep suddenly drove in between Carlon and Paula. To be more accurate, the strange armored jeep ran into Carlon as it drifted into a stop, forcing Carlon from standing to making him fall to the asphalt and near the netherworld gate.

Paula got back up after regaining the feeling in her body and limped to the EDF scout. She accessed the turret system of the device and aimed it at The Overlord. The Overlord slowly got up and saw the turret coming to life. He backed up a little bit and neared the netherworld gate. Is he going to attempt an escape? The machine fired a rocket and it flew to Carlon's chest, making it predictably explode. Paula peered from her window and saw that The Overlord was glowing gold and unharmed, aside from the seemingly permanent damage done to his helm and his armor thanks to her chainsaw. She could not believe what was happening! A chainsaw was able to damage him, but not a rocket? She decided to fire a barrage of rockets this time, rapidly pulling the trigger as fast as her fingers could allow. Explosive projectiles flowed from the EDF scout like a torrential downpour of destruction, each one either hitting its mark or scarring and blackening the ground. Her fingers ached as she flicked the trigger system, firing rocket after rocket at The Overlord. Even when the rocket smoke threatened to blind her view of her target, she kept firing the EDF scout's rocket turret at this stubborn enemy.

After a solid minute of bombardment, Paula decided to stop jamming her firing trigger, her trigger finger aching painfully by now. Many of her Saints and minions were dead, from what she could tell from the current battlefield. The smoke was heavy, but it cleared away slowly. She squinted her eyes, trying to look past the fog of war. After seeing a silhouette in the burning crater of ash and smithereens, she recognized the shape it took and her jaw almost dropped from her mouth. She spotted Carlon's silhouette in the gray as his form emerged and revealed itself with the help of the natural wind. A golden glow still glistened on his armor, which can only mean that his armor withstood ALL of Paula's punishment. "You got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Paula cried out angrily, smacking her steering wheel and coming out of her EDF scout and kicking its tires in frustration. Kicking at it again and again in bitter and black frustration.

Carlon clapped his hands. Wait... Was this applause? Coming from The Overlord? "I'm impressed. You could have been worthy enough to become a lieutenant. Or a netherghul, if I am forced to kill you." He turned away to find some minions returning to him. "Find Mistress Jane and bring her back to the netherworld. She's over there." Carlon said, pointing to the hanger. They quickly marched over to Jane.

"Netherghul? Not sure what that is, but I decline the offer." Paula said, staring angrily at The Overlord.

"I said you COULD HAVE BEEN. It doesn't mean that you will be one. After I tend to my mistress, the mayor and your second-in-command, I'm coming for you." Carlon said. The minions he ordered to bring back Jane hobbled her along, her arms and shoulder in great pain, into the netherworld gate. "You are the first to pull my helm off in combat. I think I should think up a most severe punishment for you, for when we meet again."

Carlon walked backward and jumped into the blue haze of the netherworld gate. As by a silent command, the remaining minions, of which there are 28 remaining, scuttled back to their respective color coded minion gates.

Paula sighed, frustrated, and started walking around to look at the chaotic aftermath. Many of her Saints were heavily wounded. Some were beaten to a bloody mixture of pulp and ribbons. Some were burned beyond recognition. Some even didn't see their attacker as they laid dead, with sopping wet wounds dotting their backs. She thought she saw a bunch of minion bodies on the ground, but a quick look around revealed none to be seen. They must have either been dragged back to the netherworld gate or decayed at an incredible rate. There were no minion bones either. However, Paula didn't pay attention to this detail.

But then she saw the helm. Looking at it curiously, she went to it and picked it up. It felt very warm to the touch, especially the runic symbols that seemed to circle clockwise or counter-clockwise. The metal was light, incredibly smooth, spiky, and had a strange archaic energy. Paula had never felt archaic energy before, but she is pretty convinced that this is what it felt like. She also heard voices coming from the abandoned helm. She neared an ear to the tiny voices. She could barely make them out. She finally decided, after some hesitation, to place the helm onto her own crown.

"_Master! I'm glad you got back here as overlordly as you can!_"

"_Spare me your tripe. I got the mayor._"

"_Well that's fine and dandy, but we have a problem, sire! Johnny Gat is a troublesome guest, and our minions alone is not enough to recapture him! If he makes it to the minion burrows... I don't want to imagine what kind of damage he might cause!_"

And audible sigh was heard. "_I'll cut off his limbs then. ...Hmm? We got an eavesdropper._"

"_Huh? Oh, hello there! Seems as though she has the helmet. That means the two-way audio enchantment can allow her to hear into our conversations. Hmm. This poses a problem._"

"_Which reminds me. I'll be going to the forge first. After some needed repairs and replacements, I'll deal with our 'guest'._"

"_Please make it quick, my lord! And try not to lose your equipment again!_" Heavy footsteps trailed away, becoming distant. "_... Alright then. Ah-he-he-he-hem! Greetings, human! You are now in possession of an artifact that is not meant for human hands. Especially your hands. Yes, you. The one wearing purple and revealing her bosom to everyone._"

Paula paused for a brief second. "... Are... you talking to me?"

"_Oh, for the love of evil. YES! Despite the current modern age that you live in, the power contained in my masters helm has enough energy to destroy your feeble mind, and possibly burn holes in your skull. If you want your death to be slightly less painless, I suggest you keep your grubby hands off and leave it on the ground!_"

"Yeah, I think not." Paula said.

"_I don't care what you think, you meatsack sub-creature! That happens to be a very precious type of armor meant only for The Overlord!_"

"You can tell him that he can kiss my ass. Who is this?" Paula taunted.

"_I am Minion Master Gnarl. And your ample and juicy posterior, though lovely, is not fit for his lips!_"

"... I'm pretending you didn't say that. Why did you need Stilwater's mayor?"

"_Simple, really. She has importance to The Overlord. Getting back to the topic at hand, you should put the helm down and pretend you never saw it._"

"Fat chance. So I heard that Gat is really laying into you guys. You could just give him back to me, if you want."

"_Give him back? It would certainly solve a problem at our end, but I'm afraid I can't do that. Heheheh._"

"Oh, okay... how about I trade you this helmet for him? I mean... I can probably find a way to melt this down and make it into a weapon somehow."

"_You devious little minx!_"

"Is that a no, Gnarl? It's Gnarl, is it? Alright. I'll go melt this helmet down into knives and bullets then."

"_Wait just a minute! Before you melt that down, allow me to speak to my master on the matter of this... 'deal'. I will have to talk to you later. Just put the helmet back on if you want to talk to us again. Or just... leave it on. I can have a minion here to keep your ears occupied._"

"Thanks, but I got some things I need to do myself." Paula said, taking off The Overlord's helmet.

Paula brought out her cell phone and looked for Pierce in her contacts list. After spotting his name and his profile picture, she selected him and pressed the call button.

Paula: Pierce. Did you survive?

Pierce: Yeah. I uh... I kind of ran away when that metal guy looked at me.

Paula: And you did nothing to stop that metal guy from capturing the mayor? Pierce, you had one job!

Pierce: I know, and I'm sorry! Listen, if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, I promise I'll do it.

Paula: Listen, time is short and I need you to do me a favor now.

Pierce: Sure, anything!

Paula: I have something that belongs to The Overlord fucker. A helmet. I want you to analyze it as best as you can. Sadly, I don't have Shaundi or Gat here, so you're now my go-to guy as of now. Think you're up to it?

Pierce: Let me think... Wait, don't you know a scientist?

Paula: I think I do know of one. Tera Patric. She could have connections to the scientific community... I think I'll call her up and see if she knows someone who can help. I'll text her your number, so that she can call you and meet up with you.

Pierce: Alright. Are you at the airport still?

Paula: Yeah. Come to think of it, you should get over here and get this helmet off my hands. Oh, and whatever you do, try not to put the helmet on.

Pierce: Why?

Paula: You'll get an earful from a guy called Gnarl.

Pierce: Uh... okay, I won't.

**A/N: Had trouble piecing all the parts together on this one.**


	19. Evil's Charge

**-Revised-**

Chapter 19: Evil's charge

Carlon returned from the forge and re-entered the throne room. He looked around, feeling comfortable with a helmet on his crown again. Minions were scrambling around and snarling, looking for the 'guest' possibly. The minions he brought back from the fight at the airport was joining in on the scuttling, succumbing and giving way to the minion swarm and its primitive hive mind. The two minions that brought Jane Valderamma back with them finally came back from guiding her to the private quarters upstairs, and joined the other scrambling minions. Gnarl clambered to Carlon as quickly as his shambly legs could carry him. There also seemed to be a charred crater on the veranda.

"Thank evilness you're here now, sire!" Gnarl exclaimed. "We lost Johnny Gat for the moment, but he is around here somewhere, no doubt trying to regain his stamina. But I doubt he'll be using those shooty things since the shooting had stopped ages ago. I tasked some greens to track him down, but we won't know anything till they find him again."

"Where was he when you or any minion last saw of him?" Carlon asked, brandishing his axe.

"We fought and cornered him to the veranda. We thought we had him, but he had the 'brilliant' idea to make a grand explosion with his pineapple shaped things and his noisy stun bombs, just to jump onto the obsidian platform and go to the minion burrows!"

Carlon placed his left hand onto his chin. ... Or rather, the part of his helmet that covered his chin. "Hmm... We need something to sniff him out. If he's as sneaky as he is violent, then this might be a problem for everyone here."

"Sniff? Gasp! I think you gave me a wonderful idea, my lord!" Gnarl exclaimed.

"Which reminds me. Are you going to smell that servant again? Seriously, I can tell that you can't stay away from any sluts, and I know you're lurking around her shadow whenever I'm not here. I read on the internet that there are sexually transmitted diseases in this age, and I can smell the unclean prostitution from her. You're not to go near her as of now."

"Ahah, that's where you're wrong, sire. Such diseases are but a human condition. Oh... but even so, I shall, by your command, adopt a cautious distance from the lovely servant."

"But please explain your idea." Carlon asked.

"My idea?"

"When I said the word 'sniff'? You just had a stroke of genius, before we distracted ourselves with modern plagues carried on by mating."

"Well I'm sorry sire, but between so much chasing after Gat and catching up to him, I need a little time to rest and get my evil mind straight! But you are right, back to my idea. It involves the use of the tower heart. The crystal heart. I remember in my slightly younger days that it had the power to manifest and produce as many enemies your predecessors wanted to kill, again and again."

"Kind of like Battlerock Arena?"

"Not quite like Battlerock, but you're on the right track. You see, your father had managed to slay some salamanders and giant spiders in his prime. And before then, even further into the recesses of history, the crystal heart was once a castle heart, serving an overlord by the name of Lord Gromgard! He managed to slay a whole clan of wolves and their queen! It's been a long while since any minion had a mount to ride on, now that I think about it."

"So... we summon the wolves, using our crystal heart, to sniff out our rogue guest. But how does the heart create creatures for my predecessors anyway? Does it store the souls that past overlords and their minions slayed? And also, would the crystal heart be able to summon them? Even though I am the new master, I haven't slain any wolves, salamanders, or spiders to begin with. Would it do what you said even though it was pieced back together, twice I might add, by my father?"

"It's a very powerful relic of the past, sire. If it works as intended, then there is no real need to try to pry it open and break it again in the process! But we need wolves now. The tower heart can provide them, I think."

"Wait. You think?" Carlon questioned with some apprehension.

"Yes. This could work or not work, mind you."

"... It's a chance I'm willing to take. Once you're comfortable with using the tower heart to create minion mounts for the minions, if you can, we can mass produce as many mounts as the tower heart can allow and make a final attempt at The Saint's leader."

"Very good, sire! I'll see if there is to be any side effects occurring to tower heart-produced mounts. I'll send some browns on wolves your way to the minion burrows, when convenient."

"Mm. I'll need something to track Johnny with." Carlon asked.

"I believe a green managed to pull a piece of his clothing off of his back, before being thrown off the tower." Gnarl said.

Carlon turned tail and headed to a green minion, which gave The Overlord a torn purple portion of fabric. He then went to an obsidian platform that floated to the minion burrows.

XXX

Johnny Gat panted heavily, ragged and fatigued. After using his grenades and flash bangs all at once, he barely managed to slip past everyone and find a hiding place in this strange underground habitat. What's worse, there were even more of these cock gobblers here. This area looks to be like some kind of burrow. He would have to find a better place to hide soon, since a lot of these crevices are crawling with minions. Despite shoddy and makeshift huts providing plentiful and various locations to hide in, he couldn't hide in one location for long. Or be able to fit in any of the minion shacks. As Gat sneaks past several minions, he noticed two things from them through brief and distant observation. He concluded that minions were pretty stupid, and were also pretty much evil. And being stupid and evil was a very bad combination for the minions, he figured. It's no wonder that they had someone smart controlling them. Without an overlord, they would be directionless and hopeless. Under the right master, however, untold destruction and panic would be wrought in whatever place their overlord chooses! For now though, the majority seemed pretty content to mine and chip away at the obsidian, or looking for him. There also seemed to be a line for something. And the minions seemed over eager to be in this line too.

There was no way Gat could even remotely take down The Overlord with how that guy is now. He only had a whole clip of bullets left in his only pistol. There was also the samurai sword, but a confrontation with hordes of minions like his last encounter would be his undoing. Once Gat gets the chance, He'll make a beeline to the place where he entered this dark and hot underground terrain and figure out how to get back, one way or another.

Just when he thought the coast was clear, he saw something he would never thought he would ever see again in this environment. Shaundi. She was apparently giving some minions free massages in a very revealing leather and fur bikini. The minions formed a line to get their massages, taking their turns as a timer dinged every 3 minutes. Gat couldn't help but stare in confusion. Since she seemed perfectly fine from a distance away, he decided to try and rescue her. Gat moved out of sight and decided to tamper with his kobra pistol. After some time of tampering with the trigger, he aimed to throw his last gun a good distance away. It'll fire its last rounds when it collides with something, giving him enough of a window of opportunity to try and steal Shaundi back from them.

A sudden cacophony of loud bangs drew the attention of all the minions there. After a brief moment of looking at one another in sheer idiocy, they all ran towards the disturbance, completely ignoring Shaundi. Gat slid into the scene and approached Shaundi, grasping her shoulders tightly and keeping his voice low. "Shaundi. It's me, Gat."

A slight crackling light was seen from Shaundi's eyes as a halo of faint energy surrounded her head. Shaundi seemed too sleep deprived to even talk properly. "... G... Gat?"

"Why were you massaging those little monsters?" Gat asked.

"I was... commanded to, by my master..." Shaundi said like a tired, magically controlled slave.

"... We need to get you out of this place. If it's not the air down here that made you like this, then it's that fucking overlord." Gat reached down to grab Shaundi by the hips and carried her fireman style.

"B-but... my master... he wants me here..." Shaundi said, struggling weakly and sluggishly.

"Yeah? Well, I think Paula would like you and me back with her instead." Gat said, a sense of dread filling him up since his footfalls were now going to be louder. But it didn't deter him, since he believes that he has only several more seconds till the minions start catching on to the fact that they have been tricked.

"What this thingy?" A minion said, picking up a pistol that was useless.

"Hyooman weapon me thinks." Another minion said.

"*gasp* Maybe it belong to purple coat man!"

"Grug think so? We must tell master!"

"But what if purple coat man is here? Maybe we find him, and bring to master!"

"Yes, yes! Find purple coat man, and let masta avenge fallen minions!"

"Come, Mud! We must find purple coat man for tha mastah!"

Gat ducked behind a formation of natural obsidian and stealthily peered over. They scattered everywhere like cockroaches under a bright light, but he breathed normally when none of the 50+ minions decided to come to his and Shaundi's location. Before Gat could move, he saw something coming from his left. He ducked a little bit but also tried to see who was coming. It was The Overlord. Or at least, his helmet was since he only saw his helmet spikes. Gat ducked down and listened to the clanking of his metal boots becoming closer, then grew distant. Gat looked up again and found no one else. After waiting sixty seconds he stopped again when he heard other noises. He peered up to carefully glance at what else was coming. ... Minions on dogs? No... not dogs. After coming closer to view, Gat realized that what the minions were riding on were not dogs. They were riding on... wolves?

The minion wolf riders went past him, unawares of his hiding position. Gat decided to wait for 15 seconds this time before making a run for the platform. Picking up a reluctant and weakened Shaundi, Gat went onto the platform and ridden on it again, coming back to the netherworld tower veranda.

Gat saw Gnarl and many minions looking into a pit that formed the inside of the throne room before approaching the main hub. Gat carefully sidestepped when he heard Gnarl's voice. "Master, are you back already?" Gat paused, even holding his breath and cupping Shaundi's mouth. "... Hmm. Must be nothing. Now where was I? ... Oh yes. Psycho, Cragg, Slogg, Boog! Every minion that has strong calves, get on a mount and help the master!"

Gat saw wolves popping out from the pit and landing awkwardly on the warm and hard obsidian ground. Despite the wolves' confusion, the brown tinted minions clambered onto them and rode on them wildly before making their way to the platform that floated to the burrows. After there was only Gnarl in the room, Gat slowly approached, leaving Shaundi behind him. He readied a katana blade for a silent kill. With the scabby walnut out of the way, Gat can try to find the controls for the netherworld chandelier/gate thing.

"That's far enough, Johnny-boy."

Gat looked immediately up and saw Carlon discarding a purple rag, followed by an entourage of minion wolf riders. The minions snarled as ferociously as the wolves they rode on, but The Overlord was staring straight at Gat, unflinching and dead set in his purpose, like a hunter gauging his prey. Before Gnarl could turn around and find Gat behind himself, Gat acted and held the gnarled minion hostage, putting a blade to his neck. "Come any fucking closer and your adviser here is gonna be redecorating the floor with a new coat of red paint. If that doesn't settle in your thick skulls, I'll make it easier for you assholes to understand: Step forward, and I make a new neck hole."

"And I believe you. Minions, capture!" Carlon commanded, thrusting a pointing finger at Gat, prompting the minions in his horde to ride forward at him. Gat sliced a throat, turned tail and went the other direction, grabbing Shaundi and making another attempt to flee. But suddenly, the entire world seemed to move to a crawl. This wasn't the normal slow one might experience when the body produces a sudden burst of adrenaline. To Gat, he quickly noticed that everything other than him moved at a normal pace. It was him that was moving at a crawl. Minions on wolves slowly surround him, grinning widely and cackling. Once he was surrounded, they pounced him and swiftly removed Shaundi from his hold and pinned him to the hot floor.

Gat tried to struggle, but his slow movements was easily hindered by The Overlord's magic. Even when the magic was wearing off, he was subdued anyway, so struggling was a fruitless attempt. He could feel vibrations of The Overlord's hard metal boots circle and come to rest, just in front of him. Gat was forced to look up by the help of another minion, and now was face-to-face with The Overlord. Gat spat defiantly. "You know something? It was pretty rude of you to just leave me here with nothing to entertain myself. Makes you seem like a poor host."

Carlon chuckled and sighed. "You certainly had fun with my minions, that much I am aware."

"Before you do whatever you want with me, I want to ask a few questions first." Carlon chuckled more loudly at his request. "... How is it that you're able to do that mumbo jumbo stuff?"

"You mean my spells? It's about as simple as the answer that I will share with you: magic." Carlon said flatly, stifling another chuckle.

"Doesn't really answer how you are able to throw fireballs and hypnotize people."

"Magicians may have their tricks, but I share one thing with them in that regard: We never reveal our secrets."

"Crap. Is there at least anything you can tell me that you're willing to share?"

"Well, for starters: Your boss, Paula, The Saint's leader, that cunt that has been a bitching pain in my ass for as long as I met her, she has offered to trade me something for your return."

Gat sighed in relief. "Oh... Well good." He looked up at The Overlord and grimaced. "... But what about Shaundi?"

"The servant will remain here, since she didn't offer anything for her, or asked if she even existed." Carlon used his boot to push Gat's face to the side to further inspect his 'guest'.

Gat made a defiant grunt. "Grnh, well I'm pretty sure that having her back would make my boss happy. Maybe I can persuade you to give her back to us?"

"Laughable as that seems, hahah, you are willing to try."

"... Well... can we have Shaundi back, please?" Gat asked politely, almost sarcastically.

"... Fine. But it'll cost you."

Gat was half in disbelief that that actually worked. "If money is an issue, my boss has tons of it. That or you can go to a convenience store and purchase a scratchcard."

"No, I have a better option in mind. First things first." Carlon raised his axe and struck down hard, making Gat release a pained yell as one limb after another was crippled. Carlon called for a nearby blue minion, which used its healing magic to heal and close Gat's wounds. The intended side effect was to close the severed stumps so that sewing the arms and feet back on would be difficult, and practically impossible. Gat's limbs was now reduced to just his elbows and knees. When the blue was done, it then went to the recently killed Gnarl. Carlon reached down and gripped Gat's head firmly, speaking into his ear forcefully. "And now with that out of the way, I want to relay a message. I'll even have my thrall help you remember if you forget. The message: Do. Not. Ever. Anger. Me." The Overlord dropped his hold on Gat's head and walked away, going to his private quarters. He turned to Gnarl as he stopped his ascent on the stair a quarter of the way up. "I think it's time to contact Paula. Gnarl, care to try and get their attention?"

Gnarl pulled himself up off of the ground after some help from a blue minion. "Oooh, that hurt like hell! ... Hmm? Oh, I'll ah, send a minion up to you if there is any changes, sire. I believe I'll make use of this device. Something a red picked up in the northern part of Stilwater if I'm not to be mistaken." he said, pulling out a megaphone.

"Mm. Make sure Gat doesn't crawl away this time." Carlon said, turning around and making his way up the stairs.

Gat panted heavily and wide eyed in complete shock that his limbs were amputated. He weakly looked back up and searched around for his severed limbs once he felt coherent enough. They seemed to be missing, though small pools of blood marked where they landed. Perhaps a minion picked one up to use as a weapon or tossed it into the chasm? His thoughts were jarred when a megaphone blasted into his right ear. "TESTING, TESTING, ONE TWO!" Gnarl's voice boomed and blasted into Gat's ear.

Gat's ears ringed in pain. "Gah! Was that even necessary?"

"I thought it was. Just a little revenge from earlier. Do anything like that again, and I will personally gouge your eardrums instead! Be privileged that the master has given you this mercy. Alright minions, listen! Send this 'Saint' to the green minion hive and tie him down. Make him wallow in the stink." Gnarl said, chuckling sinisterly.

The other minions shared in Gnarl's delight. They surrounded Gat, picked up the crippled Saint and slowly guided him away, whom was feebly struggling, but loudly cursing.

XXX

Carlon reached the top of the stairs and peered left and right. Not a minion in sight. The Overlord proceeded forward and went past the pool area, entering his bedroom, where he believed Jane was resting in. However, he did not find her resting on his bed. He looked around for his mistress, wondering if she was nearby. Not in the bathing pool. Not in the spell room. Not even at the treasury hoard. "Jane?" He called out.

"Here." said a despondent voice. Carlon followed the call to the balcony that she and him feasted on roasted phoenix together for the first time.

Carlon approached and noted that Jane seemed to look... somewhat depressed. "I came to check up on you. See if you were alright. Are you?"

"I'm fine." Jane replied. "Just... a little shaken up."

"Mm. I guess I won't be going on any of your helicopter rides anytime soon." Carlon said, putting his axe down and standing next to Jane. He can tell in her tone that she was lying about being fine.

"... Yeah."

"... I'm here if you want to talk." Carlon said, gently placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Jane retreated slightly from his touch. "Stop."

"... Stop what?" Carlon asked, confused.

"Just stop, please." Jane said, pushing him away from herself.

"Is this about your injury today?" Carlon asked.

"NO! EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE TODAY, OKAY?" Jane shouted at Carlon. He didn't flinch, but his only reaction was his glowing eyes that grew marginally wider. "EVER SINCE YOU CAME INTO OUR WORLD, EVER SINCE I SAW YOU, I FELT THAT THE EARTH I WAS ON WAS GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER! THE MORE I LIVED IN IT WITH ALL THE CHAOS YOU CAUSED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, THE MORE I FEEL LIKE I'M JUST SOME TROPHY WIFE FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT! SURE, I PUT ON A BRAVE FACE WHEN I AGREED TO BE YOUR MISTRESS, HELPED YOU ACQUIRE YOUR TARGETS WHEN I OFFERED, AND I EVEN FLEW YOU TO THE PRISON! BUT I NOW REALIZED HOW BLIND I WAS TO SEE HOW MUCH OF A MONUMENTAL EVIL ASSHOLE YOU ARE!" Jane panted and breathed heavily before speaking again. "... Please excuse my outburst. Getting shot at and crashing down at the airport made me think. And it's that this isn't working out for me."

Carlon tilted his head. "... What are you saying?" He said, getting a feeling on what Jane would say next.

"I'm saying that I want out. I don't want to be your mistress anymore, and I want to go back to being a reporter, and I no longer want to be a part of this."

"I don't understand." Carlon said, gesturing to her. "You are a very fine mistress to me though. Your idea to charge obsidian pebbles to make nether seeds helped us, you are great in bed, and you perform finely as a sub-commander to my minions. Even going far enough to give The Saints little snippets of our plans was cute, and helped us a little in fact."

"... You knew about that?" Jane asked, wincing to Carlon's answer.

"Yeah, of course I did. You got to remember that there are lots of minions down here. There is even a few that you can't see."

"Right... the little bog lizards."

"Green minions, yes. When Gnarl told me about it, I first thought that you really hadn't committed yourself to my side, so I used that to my advantage. You're a cute girl and were my mistress at the time, so I simply rolled with it." Carlon explained.

"..."

"Even if I must seem like the scummiest person to you now, using you like that, I don't hold you in contempt." Carlon sighed. "But... if you really wanted out, as you put it, I guess I can't hold it against you, if you really wanted it."

"You would... let me leave?" Jane asked, surprised.

"Yes, I would release you. When I saw your pretty face in the news for the first time, I had the impression that I could hire, or persuade you, as someone to tell the world that they have to serve me from now on. Like a seneschal telling the subjects that a new ruler rules them. But afterwards, I kind of figured that your will wasn't really... as dark and sinister as I hoped."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that. I will say this, however." Carlon turned away to look at the scenery of floating boulders circling the netherworld tower within the huge cavern. "You are not allowed to go to the surface to tell what you have learned. You understand?"

"So as to keep all this a secret?" She sighed solemnly and leaned forward. "Kinda too late since you already rampaged Stilwater. Everybody knows you! I'm actually starting to regret having sex with an overlord."

"Hahaha, that's your only regret? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you only agreed to be my mistress because you were afraid to die."

"Well..."

"Rest assured, I can kill you without getting any guilt to plague my mind." Jane turned to Carlon, shocked. "... What? You do now finally realize that I am not a compassionate man?"

"..."

"Stare like that to me all you want, it's not going to change things. Hell, I can just pick you up, hold you over the balcony and drop you if I wanted to, and I wouldn't feel remorse."

"..."

"But... I guess if you really wanted to give up being my mistress and break up with me... I won't be mad with you."

"..."

Carlon turned back to Jane. "So are you going to say something? Or will you be as quiet as a door mouse?"

"..."

Carlon sighed. "If you insist that you no longer want my company, then I have to respect your wishes. From here on out, you are no longer the mistress of the netherworld tower."

Jane looked down for what felt like a year to her. She then looked back up at Carlon and weakly smiled. "... Thank you." This was Jane's break. After the fiasco in the airport, getting shot by The Saints made her realize that being Carlon's mistress not only has some good benefits, but also many deathly hindrances. She felt a light growing within herself, glad that she can put this behind in her past.

Suddenly, Carlon hoisted Jane up by her wrists and swung her over the balcony, her feet dangling as she was hanging over a seemingly bottomless chasm. Her expression of genteel happiness changed to confusion, then to absolute fear. "What? Carlon, what are you doing!?"

"Remember when I said that you are not allowed to go to the surface and tell of what you saw here? I was being serious about that. Knowing the depravity of humanity, it's very likely that they would weasel, or even torture, information from you that would otherwise be vital to me. I'm sorry, Jane, but I can't allow you to go to the surface. Or let you live how you are now."

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! LET ME GO!" she screamed, trying to get back onto safer ground, but failing to do that.

"You will promise that you will not tell anyone of my secrets. Swear to me."

"LET ME GO, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

**"I SAID SWEAR TO ME!"**

Her heart skipped as she was out-yelled. Though, what Carlon just said wasn't so much as a yell, but... more like a primal shout that displayed the raw power held back by sheer restraint. Her mind stalled for a minute before consciously nodding. "I... I-I-I swear."

By an ironically poor choice of words, Jane felt her will fall suddenly. She was too wracked with emotions, too shocked to even scream as she felt herself being destroyed from the inside. She appeared smaller and smaller till she was nothing more but a faint speck, a small dot that was supposed to symbolize something. What that symbolized, Carlon didn't know or cared to meditate on, but one final push of his evil presence spell erased Jane Valderamma of all of her willpower.

Carlon turned around and threw Jane to the floor, now another thrall, and walked to the closest wall to simply lean on it. His armor grinding harshly on the wall as he let his weight take over, forcing him to seat himself right there. He looked dully at his hands. "... 'If you love someone, let them go.'" Carlon said to no one in particular. "... Well... whoever made that quote doesn't know that overlords half their salt can't grow soft just for someone they like. Makes them weak, and susceptible to comply to ransoms. I'm sorry, Jane. I'm... I'm sorry. It was either this, or drop you into the chasm."

After a while, a minion came up and distracted Carlon's thoughts. "Masta, masta! Gnarl want you down now. Come! Come!" Carlon sighed with a smirk, then got himself up off the floor and followed the brown minion. "Um... Masta? Why was you on ground?"

"Jane was the reason why I was sitting there. I think I'll tell you why later. ... Say, what's your name?" Carlon asked.

"Me is Mud! Hrearh~." Mud said excitedly.

"Mm. I think I'll be need of you in retrieving a body after I'm finished with Paula. You interested?"

"Me shall obey, masta!" said Mud, saluting his approval with a scabby hand.

"Grand. But for now, let's see what Gnarl wants."

XXX

**A/N: I made up some scientific names for the minions using some Latin!**

**gemuit = Minion**

**gemuit lentus = Brown Minion**

**gemuit ignis = Red Minion**

**gemuit furtim = Green Minion**

**gemuit humidum = Blue Minion**

**Might not be accurate though. Heh. 'w';;**


	20. Before the Final Battle

**-Revised-**

Chapter 20: Before the Final Battle

Paula waited, watching her most recently claimed prize in silent contemplation from a chair, the 'stolen' helmet of The Overlord being the subject of the staring. The longer she stared at it, the more she swore that she saw some kind of black mist pour out from it. Waiting was the only thing she can do right now. The reason why was that her only lieutenant remaining was contacting a scientist that Paula thought would help her and The Saints. But then there were a few doubts that had only recently occurred to her. One possibility was Tera Patrick being on the northern side of Stilwater when the attack happened. That or her fleeing due to Paula's rampages. Or perhaps some other factor? But either way, Paula knew well that Pierce was a smart cookie, and he would pull through on his order. Despite the fact that everyone ripped on him for his forethought, and that his position within The Saints was regarded as laughable. But with his higher ups now either dead or simply out of action, he has to fill in those roles now. Pierce had been instructed to pick up the helmet and put it in the Saints Row mega condo, while Paula picked up the surviving Saints from the last battle. Paula was a little impressed that Pierce found the time to place a podium in the center of the living room so the helmet could be displayed there. But putting on that helmet was the ABSOLUTE LAST thing she would want to do. She was staring at this helmet for way too long now. She now wondered when Pierce will retrieve Tera and come back.

Finally, there was a knock on the door. Seems like the Saints Row mega condo was busy today. A Saint that acted as a door sentry pulled out a gun and slowly opened the door entrance. Pierce, followed by Tera Patrick came in. They were followed by another three people.

"It's alright, they're with us." Pierce said. After the door guard holstered his weapon and closed the door behind them, Pierce turned to Tera. "You know, I got to admit. You got a pretty interesting past."

Tera blushed from his compliment. "Please, no. Don't bring up my work when we're already here."

"Alright, since you asked nicely." Pierce said in turn.

"Pierce! Where the fuck have you been? I thought you were messing around with Tera, or something! And who are these people?" Paula said, agitated and getting up from her chair.

"It's alright boss. I asked Tera to bring some qualified scientists with her, like you requested." Pierce said, disarming the metaphorical bomb.

"Hello again." Tera said, her expression changing to a somber/serious tone. She reached out her hand to shake Paula's. "Sorry for taking so long. Pierce and I were just having a conversation as we walked here. It took a little longer than we thought."

Paula accepted the handshake. "I'm guessing these are the specialists you got to help me?"

"You said you needed some scientists. I brought these people so that they would help. I asked a request from a friend to transport them, and here they are. But it wasn't easy. Did you know that the entire island is now under quarantine? Had to convince the national guard to let each of us in."

"... This is news to me." Paula said, surprised.

"Well, any plane or boat that tries to enter or exit without authorization is blasted into oblivion. The Overlord stirred up a lot of attention and managed to attract the military, and they are pissed about him. That, and with the minion menace plus the brainwashed denizens trying to tell everyone to worship and serve The Overlord, everything just seems to get worse with time!"

Paula felt her blood flare up with rage at that, knowing that some of her crew was now serving him. "Then it's damn time we take the fight to him. What can these three do?"

Tera turned to them, gesturing to a woman of American/Japanese descent, whom has black long straight hair, with a matching black woman's suit. "Jeziree Baba here, will be our forensic autopsy technician."

"Our what?"

"It's just a fancy name for someone who will give us info on the little brimstone chimp corpses. She might be able to see what kind of weaknesses they might have."

Jeziree sighed. "I hope I don't get killed when my neck is on the line for you like this."

Tera turned to the second guest, a portly Caucasian man who seems to be constantly sweating, wearing a jean jacket with an office shirt underneath, damped from his soggy warm perspiration. His square glasses made his eyes look HUGE. "This is our behaviorist, Shaun Dwight. It took a lot of convincing to get him over here, so try and be nice."

"Heh, good luck with that. I'm pretty sure the word 'nice' isn't part of the boss's vocabulary." Pierce said.

Paula glared at Pierce, making him back away in a slow retreat. Seemed like this wasn't the time to make sarcastic jokes."... I miss Gat."

"... Anyway." Tera interrupted. "This is-"

"Bryan Grachev, your metallurgist and your charming prince." A tall Puerto Rican looking man with blond hair and a blue blazer came up to Paula, brought her hand forward and gently kissed her opisthenar. Or simply, the back of her hand.

After the kiss, Paula held up her hand as though it was grossly fondled by tentacles and snail dicks. She was getting a feeling that Brian might be an A class pervert. "Um. Right. And what will you be doing?"

"Well, mi hermosa mujer, I'll be analyzing the metal from that pantalla maravillosa." He said, gesturing to The Overlord's helmet.

"_I don't think so._" An inhuman and sinister voice sounded from the helm itself, making everyone flinch.

"Dios mío, ¿qué es eso?" Bryan exclaimed.

Jezirree and Shaun were just as surprised. Shaun decided to make his voice heard. "... Who said that?" he said timidly.

"_Never mind who, porker! I smelled a scheme coming a mile away, so I listened in on you. And from the conversation that I eavesdropped on, you were still planning on taking down my master! For shame._"

Paula went to the podium and picked up the helmet, glaring angrily into the empty face. Apparently, the voice is coming from the metal helmet that belonged to The Overlord. "Listen Gnarl, you fuck. You will be getting back your precious helmet, on account that we get Gat back."

"_Oh how quaint! But you forget that we didn't agree on getting him back to you in one piece. Huahahaha!_" Said the helmet with a blanker expression than a veteran poker player.

"If I so much as find you, I'm gashing your throat wide open!"

"_Well, to be frank, your Gat friend got there first. But enough trivialities! We have decided to accelerate our current deal. Bring the master's helmet to the Third Street at the Saint's Row church._"

"Why?!" Paula yelled, shouting at the helmet.

"_Be there in 30 minutes. Fail to come, and Gat will... well... I doubt you would want him back after you learn what will happen to him! Huehehaha!_"

Paula gritted her teeth and chewed on her lip. She was afraid that she might not have enough time to formulate a plan. Turns out that the three scientists she requested was now useless! How utterly anti-climactic. Paula shook her head and decided to improvise instead. "YOU FUCKING STUPID ASSHOLE MUNCHING RETARDS!" She shouted at the helmet, shaking it around wildly.

"_Wait, what are you doing? I can't see anything! Are you shaking the master's helm? Stop doing that, or you'll make me nauseous!_"

From what Gnarl exclaimed as he was experiencing vertigo, it gave Paula the window of opportunity she needed. As she shaken the helmet, she slipped a device into the empty helm. "I WILL CARVE INTO YOUR GODDAMN CORPSES MY INITIALS, I WILL LOP OFF EVERY HEAD AND FILL THE STILWATER CAVERNS WITH THEM, AND I WILL THREAD BARBED WIRE INTO YOUR BODIES AND CONNECT THAT WIRE TO A TRANSFORMER! YOU HEAR ME?"

"**Enough!**"

The helmet spoke in a very different tone and voice, almost booming at them in a way. It took everyone by surprise, yet again. Even Paula, though she realized who that was, immediately after the ruckus clearing exclamation. "... You."

"_Hello again, Paula. Why did you have to make my adviser sick? Minion vomit is not fun to clean up, you know._" The Overlord said, through the helmet.

Paula slammed the helmet back onto the podium, turned and crossed her arms. "Well he deserves every bit of my wrath, just as much as you."

"_Your petty imagined slights are amusing, but I'm afraid you must get ready to go to church. If you are not there 29 minutes from now, then I will kill your precious second in command. Any deviation, and I will lead him to his death. Any further delay of any kind, I will also lead him to his death. If you so much as sneeze offensively on my helm or act in a manner I see as unfit, I, again, will kill him. After that, we can brawl it out however you wish, or you can submit and obey to my rule. I'm actually starting to grow fond of our quarrels and feuds here and there, believe it or not. But overlord's like me have difficulty sharing power, so I will try to enjoy our lasting, fatal moments. See you there._"

The helm remained silent, and everyone stared at it for what felt like a long time. Paula thought about throwing the helm, already taking it again and raising it above her head to chuck it, but she thought otherwise and simply grasped it with one hand, letting the helmet's weight bring her arm down. "... Pierce."

"... Y-yeah?" Pierce replied, concerned.

"Call Tobias. If things go south, tell him to get a gunner of his choice, and to just wing it from there at the location." Paula turned and started walking to the door.

"Wait wait, boss. You don't mean that you're gonna go to him right now, right? Because what you just said is bunk!"

"I'm sure you'll think of something. And when you do, you better pull out all the stops."

Pierce could do nothing to stall the inevitable. It was either Gat dying or getting him back with his hurt pride. He watched with great distress as he saw Paula walk away to an uncertain encounter. Pierce slumped back and leaned onto a wall, his mind thinking furiously on a plan of action to take.

Terra, Jeziree, Shaun and Bryan all looked at Pierce, with uncertain expressions. Shawn finally broke the silence. "Um... So now what?"

Pierce ran through his head idea after idea, plan after plan. There was no way he can amass more Saints to fight The Overlord again. His army proved to be too strong and powerful. But then again... a direct battle seems to always end up in disaster. Maybe an indirect method might finally turn the tables? But that can't be it, there also has to be fallback plans. Pierce thought about it a little bit more. It appeared as though The Overlord relied heavily as a melee fighter, though his ranged abilities seemed to rely on using either fireballs or thrown minions. But could his throwing accuracy not be able to reach long range capabilities? Then the indirect answer would be rifles and snipers from two blocks away. If that failed, then a bombardment of grenades could always work. Plus, Tobias providing air support with a gunner at his side can help level the playing field. And if things were to really get dicey, Pierce can always call the 911 emergency number to rope in the remaining police, if they were willing to get between The Saints to take down The Overlord. And if they needed to pull out real quick, Pierce can drive in the thick of it with a 'borrowed' armored car, pick up the boss, and then get out of there. Better to run and fight another day. But what to do with Tera and company?

Pierce stopped leaning on the wall and took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the plan. We don't have much time on our side, so we need to do things quick. Jeziree and Bryan, you're riding with me. I'll be dropping off Jeziree at our hideout since I know pretty damn well that there are minion bodies she can dissect there. Then I'm dropping off Bryan at the airport. There should at least be fragments of The Overlords armor there. Tera, you and Shawn are to go to the church and provide any intelligence and data, what you think or what you know, about the minions and The Overlord's behavior. If shit hits the fan, don't be afraid to call 911 and call the cops to pick you up. Let's go!"

Pierce lead the way for everyone, pulling out a cellphone to call for Tobias's help in what possibly might lead to be the most harrowing, and perhaps final, skirmish.

Tobias: Ey, you reached Tobias. Can I talk later? Kinda on a date.

Pierce: Boss wants you in a helicopter now.  
Tobias: Oh. You're one of The Saints, huh? *sigh* Ah well. This movie sucks anyway. I think Laura will understand if I tell her I'm needed somewhere.

Pierce: Also, bring a gunner too.

Tobias: Roger. Say, have you heard about this guy called 'Overlord' or whatever the fuck? I'm coming out of a high and I need to catch up on news and current events and shit.  
Pierce: You'll know when you see his armor. Now come on! Get you and your gunner over to The Third Street church in... 26 minutes!

Tobias: Roger. Over and out.

XXX

**A/N: Whoops, I was supposed to have this poem about The Overlord be in the previous chapter.**

**Through the passage of time, I am given evil's charge.**

**I harvest and raid the land, with weapon striking targe.**

**Men break, women weep, and the children go on sulking,**

**for they too know heartbreak, but I forever keep seeking.**

**I search of conquest and power. Finding all to steal for myself.**

**Heroes and saints would see my evil charge, and faint, cringe and chelf!**

**Though some would seek to slay me, I summon forth my power,**

**To cleave flesh from bone, steal life and gold, and retreat to my tower.**

**I sit before the world as a commander, a dictator, and a monarching king.**

**I seek no partner or rival, and any who thwarts me, I start slaying.**

**Minions, to my call, my evil charge! I spot a hero that desires my fall!**

**Go forth and bash, burn, claw and scare! Make your roars echo in the hall!**

**Through the passage of time, I yearn to have every and all.**

**I harvest and raid the land, making all the swooners wrawl.**

**Men break, women weep, and I go on, stronger every marge.**

**They now know my heart and strength, my might, my evil charge.**


	21. Sunset Apocalypse

**-Revised-**

Chapter 21: Sunset Apocalypse

Despite how ominous the chapter title is, it's not nearly twilight as the sun hasn't yet kissed the horizon, looking to be but a mere half-hour away from that time of day. Aside from the beautiful reddish-orange glow made by the clouds over the city of Stilwater, and showing signs that rain is coming, Paula didn't distract herself with the beauteous environment. Her mission was to get Gat back. At least it was better to have him back than have Pierce as the second-in-command. Though Pierce had his resourcefulness, Gat had the ability, and talent, for training recruits. Hopefully he wasn't too damaged in The Overlord's care. Once Paula drove her way to the front of the church, she got out of her car and proceeded to the church steps.

But then Paula noticed some doubt in her train of thought. What if this doesn't work? The best she can do is activate the explosive charge she hid in the helmet when she finally has Gat to her side once more. That way it can buy her some time to get the hell out of there and let the military deal with the rest of her problems. Namely, the minions and the damage they caused in Northern Stilwater. But if The Overlord didn't die from the resulting subterfuge... well. She can keep fighting. It's the only thing she knows how to do well. Looking at the police headquarters far off in the distance, she noted that it was wrecked beyond recognition. Paula could care less about cops, but she felt slightly helpless due to the sheer power that The Overlord can dish out. Funny, knowing that being a gangster can be an easy lifestyle if the crime is good for the payout. But for someone as evil as The Overlord... He needed to be taken down a notch. Or snuffed.

Paula felt certain that defeating him would make her more popular, or famous even. Yeah! She might even get the key to the city! Even though she is most known for her rampages around Stilwater, but getting recognized as the bad ass hero that saves the day, she feels as though she would deserve a key to Stilwater!

Despite trying to boost her morale, her spirit was inexplicably low as she continued on.

xxx

Carlon emerged from the hellish portal, jutting out of the floor from inside the very church itself. A fitting analogy to describe a holy place no longer being hallowed ground. He decided to give his newer helmet, an exact replacement to the one stolen from him, to Mud and let him stay behind. Though his new helmet he made was exactly like the one that was removed from his person via chainsaw, he felt like playing a mind-game. Heck, he even donned his old helmet to keep up with appearances. Though simple steel might not match up with durium or arcanium, it was still a novel relic that his very father made for him. Plus, in the thirty minutes of time, he had prepared for a contingency plan if everything goes accordingly. Which was to simply get the brown, red, and green minions that was properly mounting their beasts, and rush in into battle. All he needed to do was stall for time, and his cavalry would be ready.

He made his way out, accompanied only by two browns, and 3 others that are one of each of the other minion colors. He strode down the steps and saw Paula from a distance away. Everyone that casted their gaze on either spoke in hushed whispers and distanced themselves away from the two, sensing a confrontation coming soon. Any Saint that walked by took note of the tension in the street, but dared not to come close in case The Overlord sent his monsters after them.

Paula decided to speak first, once she neared The Overlord. "Alright, you tin-can fucker. I got your helmet. Where is Gat?" she said, waving his helmet above her head.

Carlon turned to a minion and nodded, prompting a brown to go back to the netherworld gate. "He will be here shortly." He said, holstering his axe onto his back. Carlon took a few steps toward Paula till they were 15 feet from one another.

Paula would have equipped her guns if he had came closer. Since he hadn't, she wouldn't resort to it just yet. She did note that he was wearing his old helmet. "I guess wearing those helmets make you feel tough?" She gestured to him.

"No, and I'm not about to tell you anything else than that about what my helms can do." Carlon said, as intimidating as he always is. Although irate.

"Really? Does it have some ability other than talking to Gnarl, whose voice is as annoying as nails on a chalkboard?"

"_Why you little minx!_" Gnarl said from Paula's held helmet.

"Shut up you goblin reject!" She warned the voice in the helmet.

"It's a spiky helm of no importance. If anything, it's just something scary that frightens fools. Sadly, it had no affect on you. But still, it's mine, and I don't tend to lose a trinket I made." Carlon said, craning and tilting his neck slowly left and right, then idling.

There was a long pause before Paula spoke again. "I got a good look at your face at the airport, you know. You're actually pretty human as far as I know."

"My good looks aside, I am very much a descendant of man."

"Then how in the world did you come by those minions?"

"Inheritance."

"So like, what, did your dad croak and you ended up with them in the will?"

"In a way, yes." He put bluntly.

"Care to extrapolate on that?"

"No."

"Too convoluted for me or something?"

"No, it's just something that Gnarl read to me from your world's internet and I'm taking advice from it. Something regarding about being an evil overlord or something?"

"_Yes! It's on a list of 'The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord'! I bookmarked it for further reading when I or my master have time to ourselves._" Gnarl stated from the stolen helmet. "_And on number 7 on the list, it says: When I've captured my adversary and he says, 'Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?' I'll say, 'No.' and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say 'No.'_" There was a small bout of evil chuckling coming from the almost ruined helmet. "_It actually should be common sense for any self respecting commander of darkness!_"

"Even so," Carlon interjected. "Since you haven't been captured, I won't kill you for asking that question. The day grows late, but I think it's only proper to capture you later and then kill you, just for asking an atrocious question like that to me."

A brown minion came back with another brown, carrying something limbless to Carlon. They were followed by a servant, with a glowing halo and eyes that were alight with enslaving magic. Paula blinked her eyes, which then grew wide in disbelief. "... Shaundi!?"

Carlon patted Shaundi's butt as she went passed him. "She will aid Gat in any physically laborious task. Consider that as a bonus to our trade. Unless... you know... you would rather have her remain with us?" Carlon looked back at Paula, studying her expression. "... Heh. No then. Enjoy having her back till she dies from exhaustion."

Gat was dropped onto the ground unceremoniously, making him exhale an 'oof'. The minions carrying him went back to their master, where his minion total is now 6. Gat looked up weakly at Paula. "... Hey boss... Ahg... Whatever the hell you do next, don't let it be a pun about hands. Or feet. Aight?"

Paula turned angrily to The Overlord, eyes glowering death incarnate as her wrath was held back by sheer will. Carlon seemed to have taken delight by the sound of his voice, but his expression remained unchanged. "Well... A woman's scorn sure is a unique thing to experience. It makes you look cute." Carlon said, remembering how Jane was before being enthralled. Paula tossed The Overlord's helmet to him. He grabbed it before the helmet collided with his head, while Shaundi took the initiative and dragged Gat over to Paula, blankness filling her tired expression.

"Fuck off." Paula retorted, going back to the car she drove to the church with. But then she also pulled out a detonator halfway.

Carlon looked up at Paula with an amused smile. But his expression changed when Paula brought out some kind of device that Shaundi tried to use before being turned into a thrall. Curiosity begged him to look into his retrieved helm. His curiosity was rewarded when he found a satchel charge stuck and hidden in his helm. He should have felt the increased weight of his helmet sooner! Sure enough, Carlon's curiosity turned into instinct as he pushed away at his helmet. It detonated two feet away from him, destroying it and knocking him down in an explosion. He was propelled several feet away, and many of his minions were knocked back in a similar manner.

Paula got into her car, where Shaundi cared not for the detonation that occurred. Gat violently twisted around, trying to find the explosion as he was put inside with Shaundi's help. "The fuck happened? What is going on?"

Paula got into her car and looked back at the explosion, weary and resisting the urge to start smiling when her shoddy plan was implemented and finding out that he was still alive. "Oh, just detonating a hidden satchel charge." She replied to Gat.

The Overlord's body was still.

Well... If he was knocked unconscious, it'd give her ample time to run up and cap his ass. Gat sighed in relief. "Well... be sure to check if he's dead. That guy is built like a tank." He said as Shaundi was done buckling Gat and herself in Paula's back seats.

The Overlord's body stirred.

"Shit." Her attempt at subtle/explosive assassination was a fruitless attempt! She started her car, backed up and faced the front end of her car at The Overlord and watched patiently. Carlon weakly sat himself up, groaning painfully as half of his face seemed to be missing, his helmet more of a wreck than the rest of his armor. Surprisingly, his bloodied and mangled face was quickly scabbing over. The only surviving minions was a brown and a blue. The blue minion, after his recovery, started to pick up the other downed minions. It seemed to be reviving them using energy from his palm? Another new development. Great. The Overlord shook his head and got himself focused from the concussive blast. Though his ears were bleeding like crazy, they healed very quickly at the cost of his hearing temporarily. He looked up and at Paula with his only good eye.

"He's still alive, huh?" Gat remarked, leaning forward to get a good look. "... I think that satchel charge didn't work."

"Gnarlll. Paulllla put a bomb in my olllld hellllmet. Send mud to me for the replllacement helllm. Send the cavalllry!"

"_At once, my lisping lord. Alright lads! Get in there with all your mounts! Show no fear of dying! Give the master's enemies a death they won't forget._" Gnarl said. A faint chorus of minion maniacality was soon heard. Or at least would have been heard if Carlon wasn't deaf at the moment. He got himself up and unsheathed his axe, the minion count reaching to about 4 or 5 live minions to his command.

Paula hit her gas pedal and the superiore speeds forward at Carlon. Carlon's armor was not meant for dodging, but he got up quick and tried to run to his left as swiftly as he could before retaliating with a rising axe strike. All it did was ruin a car door, slicing it in half, half of it falling off. Two of his minions were hit-and-runned. The blue was still okay though, already reviving the supposed 'last' of the dead minions before needing to revive the other ones.

Carlon threw a few fireballs at Paula's car, heating her windows and windshields till they started cracking and making the car's paint flake off. Paula did a handbrake turn and attempted to ram him with a drift. Carlon retreated to a wall, saving him from the incoming vehicularized weapon. The blue minion was hit on the head by an airborn wheel and was made unconscious, though his other minion brethren was now alive and well at the moment. Paula brought out her SMG and started firing on the minions and The Overlord as she was stunt driving around him. Carlon decided that it was high time to use his sanctuary spell. He radiated a golden aura as he takes on potshots, and standing in front of his recovering minions as a blue was meekly rising and groaning from his knock-out from the slight bump of Paula's car.

"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but um..." Gat said amidst the gunfire.

"Kind of busy at the moment, Gat!" Paula said, doing her best to dodge more fireballs as she drove and skid around.

"Look at the church entrance! Have enough bullets for them?"

Paula took a quick glance and saw Minions on wolves. Doesn't Stilwater have a strict city code policy about animals displayed in public? Monica Hughes would have been livid at the amount of wolves and... giant spiders? And... and... what the hell are those red things, that look like a cross between an armadillo and a lava-born dinosaur? But then Paula remembered that the current mayor was already captured by The Overlord.

By that of a tactical decision, she drifted her car into The Overlord and pinned him against a wall, driving over and killing all his 6 minions. Carlon became frustrated as his weapon-hand was pinned. Even though the golden aura protected him from being squished, he's now stuck between a car and a bricked place. At least he has one good hand to use, and he would be liberal in using it. Punching and slamming his fist on Paula's car, he was now intent on beating the car off of him. A lucky strike managed to kill the vehicle's engine motor. Paula turned to Shaundi and said "Pick up and transport Gat to the mega condo. Can you do that?"

Shaundi droned "As instructed by my master, I am to help Gat with any physical activity he needs." She unbuckled herself then reached to Gat, to unbuckle and pick him up. Then she casually opened the car door and walked to the direction of the mega condo.

"Give him as much hell as you can, Paula!" Gat shouted at his boss.

Paula got out of her car as well before it was swarmed with many more minions. With their collective efforts, Paula's superiore was pushed off of Carlon, while he finally turned off his golden aura that was the sanctuary spell. Paula aimed at the mass of Carlon's hoard with her SKR9-Threat SMGs. "I hate it when you pull out a new surprise out your ass every time we fight!"

Carlon pulled his axe from her car and groaned. "And I loathe how you keep living, rebelling me for so long." Mud, a brown minion came to Carlon on his own wolf and handed Carlon his replacement helmet. Carlon removed his old ruined steel helmet and replaced it with a duplicate that looked like the arcanium/infernal one Paula had stolen, which... was supposed to be in smithereens? He glared at Paula with his new helmet, eyes that was once a yellow glow that became slightly orange in color. A deep reddish-orange.

She got out of her car and slowly backed away from Carlon and his horde defensively, but still ready to cap an ass. "And I guess this is the part where you send your nob gobblers after me?"

Carlon answered by pointing at Paula, which prompted all the minions to stare at his intended target, their intention all too well obvious: Kill Paula.

But then a thundering sound was heard overhead. Actually, it was a repetitive thumping sound, progressively getting louder as noisy things that approached tend to do. A helicopter, a Side Shooter Oppressor, carrying 2 gunners with AR200 SAWs, was approaching. Turns out that Tobias was a little bit late. Or was Paula early? But thanks to the loud distraction, it distracted Carlon long enough for Paula to high-tail it out of there, running as far as she can until she was sure she was out of The Overlord's fireball range. There were also sirens coming from the distance, but they were mostly drowned out by the helicopter. Paula got a call from Pierce, evidenced from her cell phone ringing.

Paula: What is it?

Pierce: I got the pieces in place, boss. Jeziree has been sent to our old HQ and Bryan has been dropped off at the airport. I think Tera and Shawn is there with you, but are out of the way and out of sight. What's going on over there?

Paula: The bomb didn't work and now there's a minion army, but I'm glad Tobias got here.

Pierce: A bomb? You mean that satchel charge you put in his helmet?

Paula: Yeah, that one.

Pierce: Then that means Tera is going to call the police on this. I'll try and send the word that there's a fight going on at Third Street. I'll be there with a rocket launcher.

Paula: Be sure to spread the word that everyone brings long-ranged rifles!

Pierce: Got it!

Tobias turned his helicopter so a gunner could aim. Having dealt with helicopter gunners before, Carlon turned on his shield spell, in case he needs to save his mana for some other greater danger. "Back in the church, minions!"

His minions gave puzzled expressions to one another, but agreed to what he ordered as they filed back quickly into the stone building. Carlon felt, through the normal shield spell no less, the bullets pinging off of him and making a violent vibration onto his armor. Even though his mana was burned at a slow rate, he won't last very long if he stood around for too great a while. Even more so with other players getting into the mix. Namely, the police, Saints, and Paula after a tactical retreat. An ever increasing supply of bullets was fired at him as he retreated until he found refuge, via the walls of the church.

"Master? We no attack?" Mud said, placing his hand on Carlon's armor as he made his way back inside the church.

"We're still attacking... Uh... Mud, was it?"

"Hreurh!"

"Mm. Anyway! I need all blues to me now!" Carlon shouted. Blues pushed past other minions to get closer to their master, as he demanded. Carlon turned away to speak to Gnarl through his helmet. "Think the blues can blink through bullets?"

"_I think they can, sire?_" Gnarl said, unsure.

"... Good enough. Alright then. Can I trigger more than one nether seed to erupt?"

"_Sire, that is a heavy misuse of the seeds! We don't need that many gates!_"

"It's not that we need gates, we need to limit the battlefield to our favor. We need exploding nether seeds!"

"_Oh. ... *gasp* Oooooooohhh... Sire, that idea is truly the most malicious strategy I heard in a while!_"

xxx

Paula distanced herself from the church and went to a line of Saint snipers, while bringing out her McMagnus 2010. Police joined with the Saints and their leader, though apprehensive, the possibility to end The Overlord's rule was a goal that both law enforcement and The Saints shared. It was an unspoken understanding. A mutual respect where two groups seeks to take down a common enemy. Perhaps with the combined forces of the remaining Saints and Stilwater's finest, they can thwart this evil?

Paula was getting a bad feeling from what felt like a tactical delay. She decided to bring her cell phone out and call Pierce. However, Pierce had already spotted her and decided to meet her, carrying an RPG launcher with him.

When she heard Pierce's ringtone sounded next to her, she somewhat flinched at Pierce's choice in ringtones as classical music filled the air.

"I'm right here boss."

Paula jerked up, making half of an attempt to aim her sniper rifle at him, but then went back to a neutral stance. "Gh! You need to change your ringtone or something."

"Not really important. Listen. I got some information coming in from the other scientists. I got some data from Bryan and Jeziree, but I got nothing from Shawn yet. Bryan said that the armor The Overlord wears is made up of several alloys that give properties that makes it conductive or non-conductive to heat and electricity. Kinda weird considering that all metals are conductive in some way." Pierce gestured a shrug, but then adopted a serious tone. "But he estimates that his armor density is 4 grams per cubic centimeter, which is more than half a gram denser than diamond density. But it's also as light as lithium. He's calling it 'the wonder metal'. He didn't tell me how strong it is yet, as he's now trying to figure out its ultimate tensile strength."

"Doesn't help me." Paula said, aiming her sniper rifle at the church, getting ready for when The Overlord emerges.

"... Okay. Well... Jeziree made some progress in her autopsy report. I'll try and simplify everything she said to you as much as I can. She is very heavy and... descriptive in her details."

"If those details are about their dick and balls or whatever, I'm going to ignore you."

"Moving on! She said that the minions share many traits with one another, but the different breeds seems to have defining traits and features that differentiate themselves from one another in terms of skill and ability. In my rendition of the short version: Browns are fighters; Reds are fire lobbers; greens stealth and stab; and blues... well... I kind of had a hard time trying to get what she said to me on what those guys do."

"I saw the blue skinned minions revive fallen minions, if that helps. But, in her words, what did she say to you?"

"Er..." Pierce tried to remember. "That they had essence and bio-electrical manipulation that can resuscitate a recently departed minion. Or... something like that. I think she also said something about an organic mechanism that activates a biological intangibility?"

"AH-AH! I'm ignoring you now. Enemy movement." Paula said, telling him to get ready for the incoming hordes.

Blue minions quickly filed out of the building in droves and droves, prompting every human to start shooting. But no matter what they did, no matter how true their aim, the blue fishy minions kept approaching. Not even Tobias's gunners did anything to the approaching blue skinned minion enchroachment to the ground forces defensive perimiter. As they approached, Paula couldn't help but notice that they seemed to be carrying something in their hands. But Paula cared less as she fired her sniper rifle again and again, but hitting nothing. She turned to Pierce. "Okay, Pierce. Fire at will."

Pierce nodded and hoisted up his RPG launcher. Pierce shot his round onto a group of approaching minions and... it went past them. "What the hell? Is this what she meant by intangibility?"

"Get ready!" Paula said, bringing out her taser as she saw blue minions coming closer at an alarming speed and... threw glowing pebbles at them.

After the pebble throwing, the blue minions quickly retreated. Everyone was confused by the unusual tactic that the minions decided to use. Paula was slow on the uptake, looking back at Pierce as he shared the same expression as she did. But knowing that no matter how unseemly the tactic, it had to be taken seriously. With a burst of speed and renewed vigor, she pulled Pierce with her, making him jerk and flail around like a ragdoll.

Carlon came out with a shining pebble in his hand and imbued it with his evil presence spell, making it glow even brighter. He then threw it a fair distance away, just when Paula dragged Pierce away and closer to the church.

The first nether seed erupted with spouts of lava, drenching and burning those close to the mini eruption. Oddly enough, the streams, droplets, and flooding of lava that touched the other nether seeds also triggered them, creating a cascade effect that quickly flooded the entire block, sans everything that was on higher ground. Since the Third Streed Saint church was elevated, the lava did little to damage or harm it much. But the vehicles, people, and buildings that were close to the lava flow was burned and melted. The smoke and fire that billowed prevented and obscured the vision of would-be snipers in the area.

Carlon was immediately set upon by gunfire from Tobias's helicopter, however. Using his normal shield spell, he summoned some reds to his side, the minions staying behind their master so that a stray bullet would not land on them so easily. He grabbed a red behind him and aimed carefully, throwing his minion missile at the aircraft. Another and another minion was launched at Tobias's aerial vehicle, making it hard for him to hover and let his gunners focus on their target.

"Grr... Hmm..." Carlon decided to give an idea he thought on the spot a shot. He turned around and gave his last nether seed to a red. "Here. Once I throw you, throw this pebble at that." Carlon said, pointing at the helicopter. The minion nodded and held the nether seed close to himself. The minion was then grabbed by a mighty gauntlet-ed hand and then thrown, helicopter-wards. Despite having dodging yet another minion-based projectile, it didn't account for the red to throw another projectile that, when colliding with the aircraft's hull, made a volcanic eruption in the air.

The aftermath resulted in a crashed helicopter that was slightly melting as its occupants and pilot were screaming their heads off as they complained from dieing from heatstroke and burning. Saints and police alike were caught in the eruptions, forcing a fraction of the forces of gangsters and law enforcement to fall back due to the intensity of heat. Paula and Pierce was caught in the middle with no way to leave, the church being an island in a sea of molten liquid earth. Paula looked around and her eyes felt like burning dry balls as she saw the lake of fire all around her, buildings catching aflame by the ocean of the molten liquid. "Oh... God..." Pierce finally said.

"As nice as it sounds to have worshipers, I think my granddad would see me as a challenge. Heh. You don't know it, but my predecessor is actually a deity slayer." Carlon said, drawing the attention of the two Saints. Carlon raised his left hand, giving the minions in the church the signal to flock behind him.

Paula wanted to retreat, since she was painstakingly reminded of her limits when dealing with The Overlord time after time again. Perhaps if she distracted The Overlord, Pierce can flank him and use his RPG launcher. But then there was the issue of his over powered overlord magic. And his minions. And that they were surrounded by lava. Paula gritted her teeth so much, she could swear that her teeth was breaking from the immense frustration she was developing.

"We surrender!"

Paula twisted and suddenly faced Pierce, practically gawking at what he just said just now. She was still having a hard time believing it. But after Pierce turned to her and gave a slight, subtle nod, Paula picked up on the signal. It would make no sense to attack someone who has a clear advantage over yourself.

Carlon slowly tilted his head, while the the minions scratched their heads and barked at one another as though trying to understand what 'surrender' meant.

"_It's so delightful to hear the enemy squeal and beg, sire!_" Gnarl chided in Carlon's ear. "_So, sire. Shall we enslave them with your evil presence spell, and brought into forced servitude? Or maybe torture and convert her for all the lifeforce she has in her lithe and curvacious vessel?_"

"I'm thinking, Gnarl." Carlon said lowly enough so only Gnarl can hear him. He approached the two and spoke out aloud to them. "Is this a trick?"

"N-no, it's not a trick. We really want to surrender to you!" Pierce exclaimed.

"I don't know... This seems like a ploy to me. Well... just to be sure." Carlon shot his left hand out and electrocuted Paula's Ruborian colored friend. After a short while, Carlon stopped from overcharging his spell and allowed Pierce to have a breath. He was enthralled, like Shaundi and many others. "Now. I'm going to ask again. Did you try to pull a trick on me just then?"

"... Yes... my master." Pierce moaned. Paula looked at Pierce in further shock as her last lieutenant had now sided with her enemy. Why didn't she try to stop The Overlord from enslaving Pierce? She doesn't know why. If Abraham Lincoln could roll in his grave, he would be doing it now. This wouldn't concern Carlon, since 1) He is unaware of the history of slavery. And 2) He couldn't care less since anyone can become enslaved to his power anyway. Paula backed away from Pierce and The Overlord, brimming with just enough shock and disbelief that she was questioning whether or not she was sane or insane.

Carlon stepped forward towards Paula. "But what about you?"

Paula thought carefully before speaking. "... I'd rather not surrender... but I'm beginning to see how powerful you are, and I'm starting to get second thoughts."

"Second thoughts? Do tell!" Carlon said, holstering his axe and listening intently at Paula.

Paula shifted a little bit before speaking. "What's to tell? You fucking came to my city and made everything a living hell. Much of my Saints are dead, I'm not getting any income, and worst of all... I don't think I can beat you through the traditional means that I know." Carlon nodded, almost smirking. "So I guess I'm going to be at your mercy."

"Hah! Mercy? Do you think I would show you mercy? No. An overlord like me isn't merciful." Carlon brought his leg out to kick Paula down. As she was sprawled there, The Overlord walked over and dug his boot into her stomach, making her squeal and writhe in pain. Carlon knelt down and watched her expression. "An overlord like me is dominant." Paula was strained in her breathing, each gasp being an effort that slowly made her more light-headed. Carlon stood straight up and gestured to Pierce. "You. Over here. I want you to beat her into submission." The Overlord got off of a wheezing Saint's leader. She scrambled to her feet only to find Pierce throwing his fists at her all of a sudden. Carlon whispered something as Pierce was fighting Paula. "Gnarl, bring out Jane, Troy and Monica."

"_As you command, my lord._" There was a short pause. "_Erm... before something else happens, can I ask you something? What happened to Jane?_"

"She no longer wanted to be my mistress. I gave her a different role."

"_As opposed to just throwing her into the chasm?_"

"I thought about that."

"_Mm. In any case, sire, they are headed to you right now. Is there something you're planning?_"

"I just want to play this game of 'Cat &amp; Mouse' just a little bit longer, I guess."

Paula dealt the killing blow as she pounded her fists into her last lieutenant, Pierce choking on his own blood as he drowned to death. Paula got up and stepped back, hands bloody from the beat-down and slightly shaking. She grimaced and turned to face The Overlord, feeling as though she would put her fists to use against him, and imagining herself prying off his armor and wrestling with his muscular body on the lava-scarred battlefield OH WHAT OKAY WHERE DID THAT THOUGHT COME FROM?

"Not bad. How about three against you?" He snapped his metal gauntlet, which prompted thee other enthralled to come out. Troy, Monica, and even Jane approached and circled Paula, while she readied herself for another round of hand-to-hand combat.

As she bore her grit and might against the other enthralled, Carlon couldn't help but notice Paula, with her grace that was mixed with brute strength. She had a more stronger body that can overpower and top Jane Valderama's strength and stamina on any stretch, it seemed to him. Paula's body glistened with sweat while her form shown beautifully in the sunset light, giving her a kind of beauty to her that Carlon had never seen before on another woman. Carlon shook his head, knowing that his mistake of rushing into a forced relationship resulted in Jane trying to leave the evil lifestyle, only to result in being a disposable pawn. If he wanted Paula to join him, it would have to start on a mutual agreement first, and then develop from there.

Paula broke Troy's neck and used his body as a shield to Jane and Monica's barrage of kicks and punches. After a pause in the fight, she threw Troy at Jane and leaped forward to pounce on Monica, only to pull and tear the skin on her neck off. When Paula saw Jane throw a ragdolled Troy off of herself and approach her, Paula jumped back and did a reverse somersault. Jane was bolting towards Paula as fast as her shackled mind would allow. Paula simply dodged to her left and brought her right leg out, tripping Jane. Incidentally, her face plummeted into a pooling of lava. Jane thrashed around wildly for scant seconds before becoming limp, her head bobbing and catching on fire in the hot liquid. Paula took many heated breaths before being pounced by Monica, holding her neck with one hand and trying to beat Paula with her other as she sat on top. Paula caught the assaulting fist after the fifth or sixth blow and twisted it. Paula then knee's Monica, making her flop forward and landing on Jane's body, catching on fire from the charring corpse. Monica got back up, flailing and on fire, and was walking towards Paula in a blind fury as she dully screamed her pain. But Monica ran out of breath as weakness took hold of her body, which prompted her to fall and roll back down the steps, coming to a stop as she rolled to the edge of the lava.

Paula took deep, strained breaths. She walked back up the steps and sighed in relief that she was now done fighting Stilwater's most popularly known people. But then she sighed in contempt as she stared up to find an overlord, looking to be amused, while his minions look on with cackling glee.

"Me like lady! Do we have ta kill lady?" a minion shouted.

"Yeh, yeh, Why? She strong and pretty!"

"Keep! Keep!"

"Can we get new mistress, mastah?"

Paula looked left and right. The fuck are these little monsters talking about? Her hands was bloody from fighting four human beings, and her temper was at an all-time high, and now she was unsure as to what they even wanted her to do next as her mind was still in a haze and filled with adrenaline.

Carlon looked left and right behind himself, then turning around. "... Oh, you guys quiet down."

Paula took her time closing the distance between herself and The Overlord. After she was close enough, she grabbed him and used him as a shield. All the minions changed their opinions and expressions to something more sour, snarling at her.

"Lady has master! She not nice!"

"Naughty lady needs punishings!"

"Kill!"

"Stop!" Carlon shouted and gestured at his minions, making them shut up for the moment. He turned his head slightly around and spoken to Paula. "So uh... what are you doing?"

"Using you as a shield. So much as try anything funny, and I'll blow your head off." Paula said through gritted teeth. He felt the tip of a pistol clank gently on the side of his helmet.

"You do realize I can use any of my shield spells to keep me safe?" Carlon said.

"I don't fucking care. You killed my Saints, you killed my homies, and you killed my friends. If you're going to eventually kill me, then I'm going to take you down with me." Paula warned, using almost all of her strength to pull Carlon with her.

"Heh heh heh... Ah. You keep surprising me, time and time again. I admire your willpower."

"Flattery gets you nowhere, asshole. And I'm not ending up like Jane. First she was a mistress, then she was... enslaved by you, and now she's dead by my hands."

"Well... My mistake there lies with me persuading her to become my mistress." Carlon explained. "After getting shot by your Saints, she had an epiphany and a mental breakdown at the same time, I think. It was then that I kinda figured that perhaps she really wasn't on my side the whole time. I wouldn't be surprised that she may have texted or called you about my plans, but that's just a silly theory in my head."

"..." Paula didn't say anything on that topic.

"But yeah, she didn't turn out so good, and I lost interest in her. She was dazzling and lovely looking, but a reporter will always be a reporter. They seem to squeal a wealth of information once in front of your fangled 'cameras'. Plus, she was yelling at me, and that set me off. Hmm... come to think of it, maybe it was because I didn't buy her any nice stuff? And then she sort of just exploded because she was neglected?"

"Shut the fuck up. I'm getting the impression right now that you're stalling me for something." She said, tapping her pistol onto his helmet.

"Ha ha ha ha ha no no, I'm not stalling! Oh, you and your imagined slights again! I did say that I have the power to activate my shields at any time. If anything, I'm just striking a conversation with you." Carlon said in an amused tone.

"... So you're not worried I might kill you right here and now?"

"I'm not saying that you could, but what I will say is that I'm not intimidated."

"... What are you trying to get at?"

"Heh, I thought it would be obvious to you by now. You are, by far, the bluntest woman I had the privilege to ever meet. But you are also very gorgeous."

"... Oh, so you're now hitting on me. Is that it?"

"Could be." Carlon shrugged. "But I'm more than wondering if you would join me as my new mistress? The minions over there seem to like you a lot. Well... up until you took me 'hostage'."

Paula shook her head. "I'd rather decline. But would that mean you'll be using that magic of yours to subvert and enslave me?"

"Very likely."

Paula stood there for a good while weighing her options.

"... Well? Do you want me to make the decision for you?"

Carlon chuckled to himself for a good while till he heard a loud bang. He didn't feel his body well up with sudden pain, or see a gun enter his vision which would have prompted him to turn on any of his shield spells. He slowly turned around and saw Paula standing a few feet from the cooling lava, which was now a dull orange. But she had a different expression about herself. It was a blank, dead expression. Her hair slowly became redder as her own blood dripped down in subtle rivers, flowing off her face and wetting the rest of her body. Carlon then noticed that her mouth was smoking, and her hand had limply dropped her gun. She fell back as her body released all of her senses, landing in the dull orange. Her body instantly ignited as her flesh charred instantly. Her eyeballs exploded due to the intense heat.

Carlon stared at the body for a few minutes, not sure on how to feel that his rival had ousted herself from his rule.

"_She killed herself?_" Gnarl said, shocked. "_Well, that ruined the moment! And her body is burning to the point we can't resurrect her as a nethergul. Sigh... sad, really. So much wasted potential._"

She done herself in as a last act of defiance, a final 'fuck you' to Carlon. She knew she couldn't beat him, and she didn't want to join his cause or become a will-stripped whore either. Carlon approached the cindering corpse and watched it cook into ash and char. After watching till the fire died and the lava cooled more, he sighed, turned and walked back to his horde. Many of his minions pouted, but joined his master as they all gathered back into the netherworld gate inside the church.

But then there was music. Carlon looked behind himself and heard it again. He approached the cellphone ringtone, leaving the minions to their own devices, to find Paula's cell. It must have jumped out of her pocket when she was on the ground fighting the enslaved. He picked her cellphone up and answered it.

Tera: Paula? Are you there? I'm seeing that Pierce is dead and I'm calling you instead of him. It's about some information that Shawn and I talked about relating to the minions that we think might help you. Are you there?"

Carlon: She's indisposed.

Tera: Oh god... You!

Carlon: I prefer to be called 'The Overlord'.

Tera: What happened to Paula? What did you do to her?

Carlon: I did nothing. She shot herself and jumped into the lava. She's now smouldering dross.

Tera: Did... you make her kill herself?

Carlon: She didn't give me the privilege. But in any case, I think I'm done here. Go about your small lives however you want. But do tell everyone that if they want to live in Stilwater, they must obey my rules and overlordship. Can you do that for me, miss...?

Tera: Erh... B-Brooke.

Shawn: Brooke?

Tera: Shh!

Carlon: Can you do that for me, Miss Brooke? Or should I say 'Tera'? You can't fool me with the caller ID, you know.

Tera: Y-Yeah.

Carlon: Good. Now that The Saints' leader is gone, much to my disappointment, I'll allow people to move back into the northern part of the city. If anyone needs me, just holler and howl into any of the netherworld gates. A representative will greet you and bring you into my home for whatever the hell you're griping about. And the complaint better be good, or there will be punishment to deal.

Carlon ended the call, and brought Paula's phone with him, heading back to the church. As he walked back, a new thought came across his mind. Maybe he should figure out how to use the spell his father used to put him in this realm to spread his gates to other realities? Rather than transport the entire netherworld tower to the new reality, perhaps just dropping a nether seed can do just as well with a inconsequential cost to the tower heart's mana? In theory, it might work. But for now, he's stuck in this place where The Saint's had infested. Ah well. Despite Carlon having gotten a crush on Paula, he decided that it simply wouldn't work between them.

Now that she suicided herself.

Poor Paula.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

xxx

**A/N: And there you have it. I might even expand on this story by making an endless crossover with other popular titles. For now though, I'm going to mark this as complete now.**

**Also, I think I might change up how I'll type my stories from now on. The way that I have been doing it was using a notepad, then copy/paste it in the post new chapter section, and then I auto-correct my horrible spelling. From now on, I just type the story in the copy/paste in the Doc Manager, then copy the story on a personal flash drive instead.**

**But anyhoo, I'm now gonna scour the internet if there's any information about Overlord character models being made for Garry's Mod or Source Film Maker. Highly unlikely, I know. But a man can dream.**

**... Oh, and thanks to that internet site that has the 100+ rules on being an evil overlord or something. Yeah. :3c**


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